


Choice

by Marorin5



Category: 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Fast and the Furious Series, The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Genre: Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Families of Choice, Friendship, Happy Ending, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-24 05:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 70,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7496250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marorin5/pseuds/Marorin5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She had to choose between her brother and her boyfriend. After finding out about her boyfriend's lies, the most logical thing for her to do was to choose her brother. Yet, her heart believes otherwise, and thus Mia decides to stay with Brian instead of leaving with Dom. She made her choice, but what are the consequences of it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Choice

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I wrote last year, and my very first Fast & Furious story ever. I was inspired by the first movie; after Brian saved Vince, Mia looked hesitant of leaving him behind. And I thought, what if she'd chosen to stay with him? And this is what happened. XD
> 
> There aren't much Brian/Mia stories around, so this was my first (and not my last) contribution to that. I really think there should be more stories of the two of them. They're such an awesome couple. I loved them the moment I saw them together. :)
> 
> Hope you like this story!

_"Mia, I'm a cop."_

Those words were still in her mind.

_"Ever since the first time I met you, I've been undercover. I'm a cop."_

She wanted to forget those words. Everything was so perfect between them before. She was filled with hope and dreams. She was sure she had finally found the right man. And then, he had to go and tell her he was a cop.

A cop.

An undercover cop.

Someone who came into her family with full intentions of betraying them. Her family had accepted him— _welcomed_ him with open arms. They had told him information they wouldn't have shared with other people. They _trusted_ him. But, he wasn't someone they should've trusted. He was someone that was getting whatever information he could to catch them. He wanted to arrest them—to send Dom and the others back to prison. He wanted to destroy her family.

And, yet, here he was. Kneeling beside her, doing whatever he could to save Vince. Brian had jumped to a moving truck to save him—to save the man who had accused him of being a cop since the very beginning (and had actually been right, but that is beside the point), who would've taken any chance to get rid of him.

Her emotions and her thoughts were out of control. She was feeling so many emotions at once, and she didn't know what to think anymore. So, she tried to forget the whole Brian-is-a-cop thing and instead focus on Vince, who was lying in the floor, bleeding to death.

Her brother ran towards them, kneeling beside them to help with the fallen Vince. Leon and Letty were at the car, she noticed. She listened as Brian solemnly told Dom that if they didn't get Vince to an ambulance in ten minutes, he was going to die. She bit her lip. She didn't want her friend to die. She was studying to be a nurse, and yet she couldn't do anything. She knew there was no way they could save Vince without help.

Brian ordered her to hold the pressure in Vince's injured arm. She did as told, although she wasn't sure what he was going to do. She had an idea, but she wasn't sure if she was right. And as she watched him get his phone from his pocket, she wondered.

Would he blow his cover to save Vince?

"Yeah, yeah, this is Officer Brian O'Conner."

He would.

Mia gritted her teeth. Every time she heard Brian's _real_ name, it felt like a blow to her heart. She still couldn't believe he had lied all along. She thought he was different. She thought that he was the man she had looked for—the boyfriend she had always wanted to have. Someone who didn't see her only as Dominic Toretto's little sister, but just as Mia Toretto. Someone who saw her as the person she really was.

She watched her brother lift his head the moment he heard Brian's real name, and the word 'officer' before it. He looked shocked and confused, then betrayed, and as quickly as that came, his face was one of fury as he stared at Brian who was giving directions to whoever he was talking to.

Mia hadn't seen her brother so mad in a while.

Dom looked at her, and she shook her head. She could see the fury in his eyes, and she couldn't blame him. She was angry, too. She felt betrayed… _used_. Brian had said that everything that happened between them was real, but she didn't know if she could believe him.

After all, how could she believe a liar?

And yet, yet there was something in her heart that told her to believe. Her heart wanted to believe his words. But, even if she believed him, nothing would ever be the same. Her brother knew about his identity now.

And it was no secret Dominic Toretto despised cops.

"—and he's got, uh, a shotgun wounds close range to his left flank. Yeah. Yeah, he's going into shock!"

Brian almost dropped the phone and Dom stopped glaring at him the moment the blond said those words. Mia shook her head. It wasn't a time to think of Brian, his betrayal, and their relationship. She had to worry about Vince now. Brian and Dom could wait until later. And she wasn't the only one who thought that, too, because her boyfriend and her brother were also focusing on Vince rather than Brian being a cop. The situation was awful, but Vince's life was more important at the moment than Brian's betrayal. They had to do everything they could to save Vince's life, and they would have to work together.

Although the hate in Dom's eyes whenever he looked at Brian was obvious.

Soon enough, the chopper showed up. Mia watched as the paramedics came and got Vince body on the stretcher. She watched as they took Vince into the chopper with Brian's help, and they talked about the arrangements to save him. She and Dominic watched, and then she locked eyes with her brother, who walked back to the car without saying a word. Brian shut the door of the chopper with a bloodied hand, and his eyes gazed to her and then to Dom. She turned around and noticed Dom was now calling for her to come.

A part of her told her to follow her brother's order and go with them, but there was another part that nagged her to stay. But, why? Why would she want to stay? Brian wasn't the person she thought he was. He was a cop, she had to remind herself. He was a cop, and he used her. He _must've_ used her. Why would have he dated her if it wasn't for that reason? It couldn't be because he genuinely liked her.

Right?

She turned around and saw him, standing there. There was something different in Brian. He didn't look as calm as he always did. There was something about his face, something about the way he was looking at her that told her that maybe…

Maybe he really did care.

Because if he didn't, he wouldn't be standing there, watching her with those blue eyes full of… _something._ There was _something_ in his eyes, but she couldn't quite tell what. It couldn't be love. Could it? Maybe he really did mean it when he said he cared—when he said that he didn't lie about his feelings. And, maybe, he was sad because if she left with her brother, it would all be over between them. It would be goodbye.

If it had been anyone else, Mia would've told them to go with family instead with the lying lover. It was the most logical thing to do. She should choose her brother. He was her family. But, choosing Dom would mean probably never seeing Brian again.

Ever since Dom went to prison and got in all of the hijacks and racing, she was starting to imagine her life without her brother. She knew he wasn't invincible. Cops were after him, and he had enemies like Tran. Racing and hijacking was always dangerous, and it wouldn't really be surprising if one day, Dom or anyone else of the team didn't make it. That was why Mia was preparing herself for that day. She hoped with everything she had that it would never happen, but she knew that everyone would have to die, eventually. So, she began imagining her life if she lost anyone she cared about. She imagined her life if Jesse, Leon, or Vince were gone. She imagined how she would cope with Letty's death the day she died, and how she would move on. But, mostly, she imagined what her life would be like if her older brother died during one of his adventures.

It hurt to even imagine it, but at least it prepared her. So, while looking at Brian's handsome face, she tried to imagine her life if she never saw him again.

She couldn't.

It couldn't be because she was watching him—looking at his face. She had stared at her brother's face while imagining her life without him a lot of times without any problems. But, for some reason, she couldn't with Brian.

She couldn't imagine her life without him.

But, why? Why couldn't she make up in her mind a world in which Brian left her life? No matter what, he always seemed to be there. It didn't matter if they were a couple or not. He was still there.

Mia didn't know what to think. She was interested in Brian for a while now, and when he got to know him more, she began to care more for him. Their date had been great, and when they made love, it was probably one of the most amazing moments in her life. Was her affection more than what she thought? Had she fallen in love? She tried to remind herself that the Brian she knew was just a lie—he wasn't real. Brian wasn't a Spilner. He was an O'Conner, and he was a cop. But, even after reminding herself of that, she realized that she couldn't hate him.

She still cared for him.

She still had _feelings_ for him.

She turned around and saw her brother yelling at her, demanding her to go to the car with them. He was the one giving orders. He was the one making decisions; and look where his decisions took them. Vince was injured—dying—and Letty was injured as well. Leon was dragged into the heists, and Jesse was probably panicking somewhere while Tran looked for him. It was all a mess. The cops were after them. They had even sent an undercover cop to stop them. Brian was just doing his job. He was just trying to stop criminals. Even if he came to turn them in, he was just doing what he had to. Dom, however, just did what he wanted and dragged their family along for the ride.

How many times had she told him the hijackings were a bad idea? How many times had she told him to keep out of it? Every time, her brother told her not to worry. How could she _not_ worry? She was tired of worrying! He treated her as a child who no idea about the big, bad world. He had always said it was going to be the last time, and it never was. She couldn't really blame Brian for going undercover to stop the team. She didn't want her brother to be caught or go to prison, but she was aware that Dom was the one who got them in that situation. He was the one who made the cops go after them.

If only he had listened to her. If only he had cared. Family came first, and yet he always ignored her opinion when it came to the heists. He said it was to protect her, but really, protect her from _what_? She wouldn't need any protection if her brother didn't go around making enemies and getting the cop's attention.

Was her brother the kind of man their father would've been proud of?

No.

He wasn't.

At least Brian actually listened to her. Brian actually treated her like an equal. Even if he was a cop, he still made her feel special. And, even if he had lied all along, she couldn't stop her heart from believing that he really did mean everything he told her. That in the lie he was telling, their relationship had actually been real. Maybe she was a fool for believing such a thing, but she did. Brian could've left the moment he blew away his cover. He could've gotten the whole team arrested a while ago. He could've not helped Vince. He could've disappeared from their lives. Yet, he did not. He just stood there—after blowing away his cover to help their friend—watching _her_.

She didn't know if it was the best choice, and she didn't know whether she would be glad for making it or regretting it for her whole life. But, for once, she made a choice _for_ herself. A choice she did _by_ herself. This time, Dom wasn't the one making the decisions.

This time, the choice was _hers_.

Looking at her brother one last time, a tear slipped from her eyes. Then, she began to take a few steps away from the car, watching as Dom's face turned into one of shock and betrayal. She couldn't stand to see his face anymore, and she ran towards Brian as fast as she could. He jogged to get near her, and when she reached him, she jumped into his arms and began to cry in his chest. It suddenly didn't matter that Brian was a cop. It suddenly didn't matter if he had lied to her. In that moment, it didn't matter. Being in his arms, it just felt _right._

Brian was shocked when Mia ran towards him, and not even a second after he managed to react and jogged towards her, she had hugged him and began to cry. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her while staring into the distance, still surprised. Family was so important for the Toretto crew. He was sure whatever relationship he and Mia had was over the moment he told her he was a cop. He thought for sure that she would choose to go with Dom and the others. They were her family. Dom was her brother! But, he would be lying if he said that he wasn't happy that she decided to stay with him. He was so glad that she was willing to give him another chance.

Brian stopped staring at nothing and instead lifted his gaze to see Dominic. The man's face was one of absolute betrayal and fury, and honestly, Brian couldn't really blame him. Dom stared at his sister and her boyfriend for a moment, trying to hold in his anger. The pictures of Linder's broken and injured face flashed in the blond's mind. Dom looked so furious that Brian wouldn't be surprised if he tried to attack, even though Brian knew Dom wouldn't do anything with Mia being so close to him. Betrayed or not, Dom would always see Mia as his little sister, and he would never hurt her intentionally. Sure enough, older man just sneered at the two of them before getting in the car and Leon drove off.

The blue-eyed man watched as the car drove off, feeling some guilt rising over his chest. He knew Dom had trusted him, and he had betrayed that trust. But, he had to remind himself that he wasn't Brian Earl Spilner. He was Brian O'Conner and he was a cop. However, his job didn't matter to him while holding Mia in his arms. She hadn't moved her face from his chest, and while she wasn't sobbing anymore, she was still crying quietly. Brian rubbed her back to comfort her. The chopper behind them took flight, and the blond cop watched over his shoulder as it flew away while the wind played with his and Mia's hair. Hopefully, they would succeed in saving Vince's life.

But, saving Vince was not the last thing they would have to worry about. "Mia…" Brian began softly. He was unsure of how to continue, because he didn't know how she'd react. "We gotta go look for Dom."

"For Dom…?" Mia muttered. "Why?" She finally lifted her head to look into his eyes. Her brown eyes were full of sadness, and betrayal was slowly making its way into them as well. "You want to turn him in?" There was anger in her words.

"No," Brian told her honestly. "I've never wanted to turn Dom in. Not ever since I got to really know you guys." He knew it was his job, and he knew that Dominic was the most probable suspect for the heists, but Brian didn't want to believe it. Maybe it was because he had gotten involved with Mia, or maybe it was because he started to see Dom as his friend. Either way, he refused to believe the truth, and he had hoped with all his heart that Dom and the team weren't the ones hijacking trucks. He was really disappointed and troubled when he deduced that Dom, Letty, Jesse, Leon, and even Vince were the ones guilty. "I got the LAPD and the FBI to believe that Tran was behind the heists. I, myself, had believed that, too, because I didn't want you guys to go to prison."

"Did you really?" she asked. Mia wanted to believe him. She really did, but she wasn't sure if she could. He had lied about his identity. It wouldn't be surprising if he was lying again.

Brian put both of his hands in her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I did. Mia, I know I lied to you, and you have every reason not to trust me, but I'm telling you the truth. I really care about you guys. You were a little family, and you let me in, and I—" He sighed. If he wanted her to believe him, then he would have to start by telling her some truth about himself. "Mom died when I was a teenager. She was all the family I had. Well, I had a friend that was like my brother, but he and I've been… at odds ever since I became a cop. While being a cop, there's this sergeant that has been kinda a fatherly-figure while I've been here, but it's not really a true family. But, then, you guys let me into your own family, and even though I was undercover, I… for the first time in a long time, I felt like I belonged somewhere."

Mia gasped and stared into his blue eyes. She hadn't known that. She never really knew about Brian's family—or more like lack of it—and she didn't know he actually felt that way while being with them. The most rational part of her brain told her he could be lying, but her heart believed every single word. But, even if he was telling the truth or not, there was one person he didn't mention. "What about your father?"

_That_ question was probably one of the questions he hated the most. He usually avoided answering and changed topics, but he couldn't afford to do that with Mia. He had to be honest with her if he wanted their relationship to survive. "I don't remember shit about my father," he admitted. "He bailed on me and Mom a long time ago. I can't even remember how he looked like."

Honestly, she hadn't expected that. She had thought that maybe he had died like her father did, but she never thought Brian's father had abandoned him and his mother. "Brian, I—" For someone who was raised by a loving father, she couldn't think what it would be like to have a life without a paternal figure. Maybe that's why that sergeant Brian talked about eventually became a father figure to the blond. He didn't have a father at all, so that man must've taken that place. And for someone who disliked cops, she was glad there was _someone_ in there that was willing to be a guide for the blue-eyed man. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." No, it wasn't really okay. His mother had struggled to get him a good life, and for that he hadn't really been able to see her that often. She did everything for him, and Brian was graceful for that. But, he also hated the bastard that left his mother to struggle with raising him. He hated the man, and he didn't even know how he looked like. "I was used to it being only Mom and me. But, then she died, and I… I didn't really have anyone. Well, I had Roman—my friend that was like my brother—and we did crazy shit together for fun and we even ended up in juvie for it, but then—"

"Wait!" she interrupted him. She narrowed her teary eyes. "I thought your years in juvenile detention were just some lie in your undercover profile so that we could buy your supposed past."

Brian shook his head. "The two years in juvie weren't a lie. I was sent there for boosting cars." He laughed humorlessly. "Mom was so busy trying to get some cash for us to survive that she couldn't be around so much, so I did whatever I wanted—legal or not—along with Rome, and then we got caught and…"

"I see…"

A small silence fell between them, and Brian was quick to break it. "We can't keep on talking about this, Mia. Not right now. Time's against us and we still gotta go look for Dom and Jesse. Just because _I_ don't wanna send them to prison, it doesn't mean the LAPD and FBI don't want to, either. They want your brother bad."

Mia knew he was right. Maybe she would've argued, but after hearing Brian's story, she really didn't think she could. She was really starting to believe he genuinely meant everything he said, and she began to get hopeful that their relationship would work out after all. But, there were still problems to deal with first, and they were running out of time. "Okay, let's go find Dom."

* * *

Dominic Toretto was angry. No, he wasn't just angry. He was fucking _furious_! The day had turned out to be one of the shittiest days of his entire life. First, there was the failed truck heist. Letty was injured, and Vince was in a hospital—either dead or dying. The heist wasn't supposed to be that way. The truckers weren't supposed to be armed. It shouldn't have been like that. Then, Brian had turned out to be cop. Dominic couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before, and it angered him. Vince had insisted he was, but Dom had believed Brian instead. He had trusted the man—he had _accepted_ him into his team, he let him date _his sister_ , and yet he was only a traitor. Brian was the cop that wanted to send him back to that hellhole known as prison.

And, to make the matters worse, his little sister sided with that pig. Dominic hadn't felt so betrayed in his entire life. Family came first—it had always been that way. So, why would Mia chose a liar like Brian over him? He couldn't understand. He did everything he could to give his sister a good life—he made sure that she kept studying to become a nurse, he did his best to protect her from their enemies, he did all he could to make her happy—and yet, she decided to turn her back on him and instead stay with that blond bastard who probably only used her. And that made Dom both sad and angry.

Not to mention Jesse was probably panicking somewhere while Tran was looking for him. Jesse's dad was still in prison, Letty and Leon left to Mexico as soon as Dom ordered them to leave, Vince was in the hospital, and Mia had stayed with Brian, so Dom was everything the kid had. He had to get to Jesse before Tran and his goons did. He had to make sure the kid would be safe. Then, they would go together to Mexico to join Letty and Leon. Hopefully they would be able to get Vince to come with them, too, but Dominic wasn't sure of how they'd get him to leave the hospital without the cops catching him.

Dom was walking to his car with a shotgun in his hands when Brian's Supra parked in the curb and both, Brian and Mia, came out of the car. "Dom, put the gun down now!" the blond yelled, getting out his own gun after noticing the weapon in the eldest Toretto's hands and pointing it at Dominic.

Mia held her breath. She knew the confrontation between Brian and Dominic wouldn't be pretty. Brian had told her that if things got too bad then he would probably have to threaten her brother to make him listen to reason, and while she wasn't happy about it at all, she did understand it. Dom was pretty pissed, and he really didn't think rationally whenever he's angry. Besides, her brother had a shotgun in his hands. Brian needed something to actually defend himself, and that something was his gun. She knew Brian wasn't going to shoot Dom, but she couldn't say the same about her brother. After all, he did beat Linder up all those years ago. She wouldn't be surprised if Dom just lost it because of all of his anger. She just hoped that neither her brother nor her boyfriend would get hurt.

Dom glanced to Brian and then to Mia. Then, his gaze fell once again on Brian as he opened the door of his car. He was furious with the both of them, but he forced himself to be calm. "Move your car," he commanded.

"No, bullshit! Put it down now!" Brian yelled. "No more running."

Dom growled and closed his car's door forcefully and walked towards Brian angrily. "I'm not running!"

"Where's Leon and Letty?" Brian asked, changing topics. He could tell that Dominic was getting angrier by the second and changed subjects to stop his fury from growing.

"They're long gone!" Dominic replied. There was _no_ way he was telling that cop where they were heading to.

"Then it's over!" Brian didn't want to hurt Dom, and he definitely didn't want to turn him in. But, if he was going to be self-destructive, then he wouldn't have a choice. "Put the gun down now, Dom! I'll put down mine if you do so." Seeing that Dom wouldn't do as he told, Brian decided to change tactics. "I didn't call the police, but don't push me! Put the gun down now! I swear to God—"

Dom couldn't believe Brian would dare talk about calling the police or not when he himself was one of them! "You are the cop!" he yelled. "You're a fucking cop! How dare you come here talkin' about not callin' the police when the cop here is you! You fucking piece of shit! I trusted you! I trusted you, but you were just some traitor! A traitor!"

Mia saw how angry Dom was. She was beginning to fear for her boyfriend's life. She had agreed to let Brian handle the talking so that Dom could see reason, but it was beginning to be obvious that he wouldn't listen. So for that reason she tried herself. Maybe he would listen to her, even though she chose Brian over him. After all, they were still siblings—they were still family. "Dom, please—"

"You shut up!" Dom snapped, glaring at his sister. "You have nothing to say to me! You chose _him_ over us, Mia. You chose that _liar_ over your own family! You chose that fucker who just wants to turn us in—"

"He doesn't want to turn you in!" Mia argued. "He just wants to help—"

"Another of his bullshit!" Dom couldn't believe how blind his smart sister was choosing to be. "He's just telling you that so that you believe him! He was never really our friend. He wants to send us to jail! He never cared for you, Mia. He just used you!"

"Now that's bullshit!" Brian yelled. "I do care for Mia, and I never used her! Yes, I originally came to send you to jail, but that was before! I wasn't supposed to become attached to you guys, but I did. You guys were the family I didn't have before you let me into your team. I really don't want to turn you in, Dom. I did everything I could to make the LAPD and the FBI believe that Tran was the one after the heists. I believed it myself because I didn't want you to be the culprit! But, just because _I_ don't wanna turn you in, it doesn't mean the LAPD and FBI don't want to. They'll do everything to get you back to prison, Dom. They want you, and they want you _bad_."

"Oh, and you surely would know that, wouldn't you, _Spilner_?" Dom asked, sarcasm in his voice. "Or should I say, _O'Conner_?"

"Dom, cut this shit!" Mia yelled, walking towards the two men so that she could stand beside her boyfriend and look at her brother in the eyes. "Brian isn't kidding. They really want to catch you!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Dom roared. "I do know that! I've always known that!" He groaned in frustration. "Look, I gotta find Jesse before they do. I'm all the kid's got. Mia, you know he doesn't have anyone else."

"Yeah, I do know that!" Mia replied. "Jesse is a kid brother to me, too, Dom, but—"

She was interrupted by the sound of Jesse's Jetta driving towards them and halting right in front of their home. A panicking Jesse got of the car. He didn't seem to care about whatever that was happening between Dom, Brian, and Mia. He didn't seem to care that Dom had blood on his shirt and was carrying a shotgun, Brian had a gun and was pointing it at Dom, and Mia was about to cry. He was too confused and scared to care. "Dominic!" he called, closing the door of his car. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what I'm doing, Dom. I'm _so_ scared right now. I don't know what's going on."

Dominic shot Brian and his sister an 'I told you so' glance before throwing the shotgun to the side. "Jesse! What were you thinking, man?"

"I don't know!" the young blond replied. "I'm panicking. I'm sorry!"

Just then, the sound of motorcycles was heard while Jesse screamed that he didn't know what he was doing and asked for help. Dominic saw the two vehicles first, but Brian was the one who reacted first as he got a hold of Mia's hand and ran towards Jesse. "Look out!" He pushed both Mia and Jesse to the ground, behind the Jetta. As he threw himself on top of them, Brian felt some bullets scratch his left arm and he grunted as he fell to the floor to protect himself, Jesse, and Mia from the shooting.

Dom was able to evade the bullets while trying to reach his friend and his sister. Despite his wound, Brian's trained instinct kicked in and he quickly stood up to try and shoot the two men, but between his arm being unsteady because of the pain and the stress he wasn't able to get them. He wasn't even able to stand straight when the wound got the best of him and he leaned against Jesse's car, trying to apply pressure to the wound to stop its bleeding. It stung as hell!

"Are you okay?!" Dom questioned Jesse and Mia. It didn't matter if Mia chose Brian over him, or if Jesse had been so foolish. What did matter was that they were his family and they had just been attacked. They seemed to be fine other than the fact Jesse was panicking, and Dom was glad for that. Still, he was worried. "Are you hurt?"

Jesse managed to shake his head despite the fear. "No."

"I'm fine," Mia assured her brother. "Brian—" She stopped when seeing the blood in his arm. "Brian!"

"Don't worry about me," Brian told her. "I'm fine. The bullets just made some scratches. Nothin' too bad." He looked at the direction the two shooters drove off to and his eyes narrowed. "A graze isn't gonna stop me." He ran to his Supra, got in and drove off after Tran and Lance, ignoring both, the pain in his arm and Mia's call for him.

Dom watched Brian speed off to chase Tran and Lance. He couldn't let Brian deal with those two bastards by himself. Those two had tried to harm _his_ family and get away with it. Dominic Toretto wasn't about to allow that to happen. He stood up and walked towards his Charger.

Mia knew immediately what he was about to do. "No, Dom. Not you, too!"

Dom ignored his sister, his mind set to find those two bastards and give them hell. He got into the car and drove off as well, going as fast as possible to be able to catch up with Brian and those two.

Mia growled in frustration. Brian was injured and he still drove off to chase Tran and his cousin. And like if that wasn't worrying enough for her, Dom just had to go and join the chase. There was nothing she could do but to hope and pray that neither her boyfriend nor her brother would get hurt, or worse; killed.

"It'll be okay, Mia," Jesse told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Yes, he was scared. But, he was also confident that Dom and Brian would be able to get Johnny and Lance. He was like a little kid who believed his older brothers could do anything. "There's no way Brian and Dom will let that guy escape. They'll be back before you know it."

Mia sighed. "I hope..."

Jesse looked around. "Where's Leon, Letty, and Vince?" he asked. They weren't there, and he didn't know what why. He didn't know what had happened since he left. "Are they okay? What happened after I left Race Wars?"

Mia knew that she would have to tell Jesse at some point. Jesse wouldn't be happy about Brian's secret, but he would probably forgive him. He would be worried about Vince's life, and he would also be worried about Letty and Leon. She didn't want to worry Jesse more than he was already, but he deserved to know. "It's a long story. You see..."

* * *

_That_ wasn't what he had planned.

He had planned defeating Johnny Tran and Lance Nguyen after the shooting at his house. After challenging Brian to a race, he had planned to win. And he did win. What he didn't plan was to crash into a truck a few seconds later. Now, his late father's Charger was practically unusable, and the cops were coming. Dominic Toretto wasn't a fool. He _knew_ he would be arrested the moment they arrived. He _knew_ he couldn't escape when injured and with no car. So, he just stood there, waiting for the cops to arrive and to send him back to that _hellhole_. Accepting it, despite himself.

What he didn't expect, however, was that the undercover cop that was sent to bust him to give him the keys to his Supra. Dominic stared at the keys before looking up to Brian. He took them and stared at them, confused. Why would the cop give him—the criminal—a chance to escape? "Now, what you doin'?"

"I told you I didn't want to turn you in," Brian told him seriously. "I wasn't kidding. Besides, I owe you a ten second car."

Dom nodded. He had thought that everything Brian had told him were just lies, but maybe, there was truth in his words. Maybe that was why his sister chose to believe the blond. And even though he wasn't happy about it, it was Mia's choice and she had the right to make decisions for herself. But, still, that wouldn't stop the older brother in him from worrying. "Mia—"

"I'll take care of her," Brian assured him. "You might not believe me, but I swear I'll do everything to keep her safe. Promise."

"You break her heart—"

"You'll break my neck. I know. Don't worry, I won't."

Dom stared at him for a moment, and then sighed. His sister had chosen Brian, and he had to accept it. If that's what is going to make her happy, then so be it. "Take care of Jesse while you're at it, O'Conner. The kid will need someone to be there for him."

Brian was surprised that Dom trusted him to take care of Mia and Jesse, but he was actually happy about it as well. He felt relieved that he wouldn't be kicked out of the family despite his lies. He was glad that he still had a chance to be a part of their world—and he would be a part of it if things worked out with Mia, and he would make sure they did. "I will," he nodded. "Go now, Dom."

Dominic looked at him, nodded, and walked to Brian's Supra. Brian watched as Dom got into the car and drove off, and then turned to where the sirens were coming from. The LAPD and the FBI wouldn't be happy that they let the main suspect escape—not at all. He knew that the moment his superiors knew what he did, he would lose the job he fought so hard to have. He was probably risking going to prison as well. But, it was a risk he was going to take, because Mia and the crew made it worth it. So, Brian walked towards the sound of the sirens, never turning to look back.

He had made a choice the moment he gave Dom his keys, and he was going to live by it, without turning back—never turning back.

Brian O'Conner had made a choice.

And to him, it was worth it.


	2. Then There Were Three

Mia paced around the house as she tried to distract herself from the many thoughts that were invading her mind. Ever since Dominic and Brian left to chase Johnny and Lance, Mia has been worried about them. She didn't know how they were, and she couldn't know either. She was hoping that both of them would be fine. In order to distract herself, she began doing housework after telling Jesse what had happened after he left from Race Wars. But, eventually, there wasn't much work for her to do and she just flopped onto the couch beside Jesse. "Where are those two?"

"They'll be fine, Mia," Jesse assured her. He was worried as well, but he was trying to be supportive for Mia. "I'm sure they're okay."

"I really hope you're right, Jess." Mia sighed. "I don't wanna lose Dom or Brian. Dom's my big brother—he's family. He'll always be my brother. And Brian is my boyfriend, and while he did lie to me about being a cop, I do think that we can work everything out. He thinks that, too. But, we can't work anything out if he's not here!"

"They'll come back! Just have faith. Dom will always come back to his family. And Brian…"

"Are you mad at him for being a cop, Jesse?"

Jesse sighed. "Well…" Honestly, he wasn't sure. He disliked cops. He had always disliked cops. It was their fault his dad was in prison! He hated that Brian had lied to them all along. But, Brian was just doing his job. He was the 'good guy' of the story, even if he came to arrest them. And Brian saved his life. It didn't matter if Brian was a cop or not. Jesse could've died if Brian hadn't reacted when he did, and for that, the young man would always be graceful. "I don't like that he lied to us, but he did save my life. So, I guess it balances out."

Mia nodded. "That's good to know. I don't want the whole team hating him. 'Cause, you know, nothing they do is gonna stop me from dating me. That's the choice I made, and I want them to respect it."

"Are you sure that it's a good idea to keep dating him, Mia?" Jesse asked.

Mia sat quietly for a moment before replying. "A good idea? I don't know, honestly. But, I do know that this is what I want. I _want_ to be with him, Jesse. I know he lied to us, and I'm not happy about it either, but he blew his cover to help us. That's what made me believe that he really cared for us."

Jesse nodded. "I understand." He smiled slightly. "I do owe him my life. Maybe he does actually care about me, too."

"I'm sure he did, Jess. He was worried about you. You're like a kid brother to him as well."

"Yeah…" He was the kid brother— _always_ the kid brother. That kid brother that had to be looked after. And he couldn't blame his friends, because he was indeed pretty dependent of them. He did run to Dom after he left Race Wars when he lost to Tran, and he almost died because of it. If it hadn't been for Brian, he'd be dead. Jesse had never really minded being the little brother of the team, but after Tran's drive-by shooting and finding out about what happened after he left Race Wars, he begun to think that maybe, if he hadn't been such a coward, nothing like this would've happened.

Tran wouldn't have come to look for him to kill him if he had accepted that he lost the race. Betting the pink slip of his car was his own decision. He should've faced it. And if he hadn't left, then he would've been part of the heist. Maybe the heist wouldn't have gone wrong if he had been there.

But, he hadn't, because he had been afraid.

And Jesse couldn't stop himself from being guilty about it all.

Mia noticed that Jesse was lost in thought. It was slightly weird to see him thinking so deeply. His ADD made him more impulsive. He only sat there pondering about stuff when it came to cars. She couldn't blame him for it this time though—there really was a lot to think about—but there was something about the expression he had in his face that made her worry. He seemed to be… sad. But, there was something else. There was _guilt_ in his face, and she didn't understand why. She wanted to ask him, but she wasn't sure how. She couldn't ask him if something was wrong, because _everything_ was wrong. She didn't want to be direct and bother him more than he already was. But, her worry made her want to ask. "Jesse—"

Just then, the front door flew open. Mia and Jesse both turned around in surprise. A part of them was afraid that it was the cops, and another part of them was hopeful that it was one of the team. And when Brian walked into the house, Mia felt relief wash into her body like a wave. "Brian!" She jumped from the couch and rushed towards the blond to hug him. "You're okay!"

Brian nodded. He was glad that Mia and Jesse were okay. He was so glad that he could hold Mia in his arms—even though his left arm still stung where the bullet had scratched him and it really didn't help when it came to hugging—but he knew they were running out of time. "Yeah."

Mia stepped away from him and began to look around for her brother. When she didn't see him, worry began to make its way into her mind again. "Where's Dom?" she questioned, still looking around for her brother. When she didn't see him, a thousand what-ifs came into her mind. Was Dom okay? Hurt? Captured? Dead? He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. He was just fine, she told herself. Her brother just had to be fine. But, even though she was trying to convince herself of that, she still prepared herself for the worst. "Brian, where's Dom?"

"Driving to somewhere away from here," Brian told her honestly.

"What?" she asked worriedly. She was confused. Where was Dom going? Was he busted? But, he wouldn't be driving somewhere else if he was actually busted. The cops wouldn't let him. She knew that it wasn't safe for her brother to stay around, but she was aware that Dom wouldn't just leave without checking on her, Vince, and Jesse. If he was driving to get away, then something had happened. "Why? Is he driving away from the cops?"

Brian nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

Well, that made sense. But, she still didn't know what had happened exactly. "What happened after you and Dom went chasing Tran and his goon?"

"Long story short, we got Tran. He won't be bothering you anymore. He's dead."

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thanks to the car gods. I was _so_ scared that he was gonna come back and try an' kill me again. He wasn't really happy when I drove away," he said, feeling guilty. "I was stupid for doing it—y'know, racin' Tran. I should've just accepted that I lost, I guess, but I didn't want to give Dad's car. I wanted to go drivin' with him when he got outta prison. Ya know, father and son time. We usta' drive a lot together when Dad was still around, y'know? We had a lot of fun."

Mia smiled slightly at Jesse. His ADD was clearly taking over again. She was glad he was alive. She really would've missed him if he was gone. "I know, Jess. I'm glad you're still here with us." She looked up to the man that had saved Jesse, and her feelings for him seemed to become even stronger. Yes, he had lied to her, but she could tell that he still cared for her and the team. Every single action he did since she found out he was a cop showed it. But, there was still things he did that she didn't know, and they involved her brother. "But, anyway, what happened after that? Why is Dom not here?"

"He challenged me to a race after we got Tran," Brian admitted. "A quarter mile, just he and me."

"Of course he did," Mia muttered under her breath. It was her brother they were talking about. Of course he raced. It was no surprise. It wouldn't be surprising if they alerted the cops with their little race either.

"Yeah… Anyways, few seconds after we got past the train line a truck showed up and crashed into Dom's Charger—"

"What?!" Mia exclaimed.

"Is Dom okay?" Jesse asked, worried about the man that was like an older brother to him.

"Yeah. Yeah, he is. But, the cops were gonna show up and Dom's car was fucked up, so I gave him the keys to my Supra."

"You did?" Mia was surprised, but she was also happy. Saving Vince and Jesse had been proofs, but no proof could be as big as Brian letting her brother go. Mia wasn't stupid. She knew that Brian handing over his keys to Dom was betraying the LAPD. He was choosing them over his job, and while it was selfish of her, Mia was glad. She was really happy that he actually meant everything he had said about not wanting to turn her brother in. She was so glad that she didn't choose someone that didn't love her over her brother.

"Yeah. Then when the cops showed up, I came up with some bullshit about what happened and told them I had to go take care of some shit." He wasn't kidding. He was really glad he was such a good liar, because the other cops didn't realize he wasn't telling the truth at all, and as soon as he got the chance, Brian told the officers he had to take care of something and ran as fast as he could. He was lucky that he found some cab in his way to the Toretto's—if he hadn't, he would've had to run all the way to the house, and that would've wasted way too much time, and he couldn't afford that. Time was gold. "It's gotten 'em off our backs for a while, but it won't be long until they put two and two and get four."

"What do you mean?" Mia asked worriedly. There was something in his voice that told her something wasn't right.

"It means that they'll soon realize that I let Dom go, and when they do, I'm gonna be in one big ass problem." Brian ran a hand through his hair. "They won't be happy. I betrayed them for some criminals." He laughed humorlessly. "And I was supposed to be one of the best undercover officers. How shit turns out, huh? Guess it was gonna happen anyways. I was always the bad boy," he said, remembering his days of teenage rebellion with Roman.

"Do you regret letting my brother go?" Mia asked frowning. What if he did regret it? What if she wasn't worth enough to him? He betrayed the LAPD, but if he did regret it, then it wasn't worth to even try to be with him, despite the pain it would cause her heart. She was too proud to admit it, but she was afraid that he really did regret it, and she definitely would be upset if he did.

"No," the blond cop replied with no hint of hesitation in his voice. "Of course I don't. But, that doesn't mean that I like what's gonna come due to this. Mia, I just did a serious crime. Believe me, a cop letting a criminal that even the FBI themselves were looking for is _not_ a good thing. They're not gonna let me off without some sort of punishment. I wouldn't be surprised if I lost my badge, and I can even be sent to prison for this." He sighed. "I can't be here anymore. If I stay, the cops will get me and I'll have to face the consequences and they won't be pretty. I gotta run."

"Brian…" Mia bit her lip. She hadn't really thought about the consequences Brian would have to face for letting her brother go. He had all the right to be stressed and mad. She felt guilty, because she doubted Brian before he could explain himself—although she did have a point not trusting him due to him lying to her—but mainly because he would have to become a fugitive because of her and her brother. It wasn't fair to Brian. He was just doing his job, and he would lose _and_ would have to face the LAPD and FBI for turning into Dom's side. But, if he was going on the run, then she was going with him. "I'm coming with you."

"Mia—"

"No, Brian! You threw everything away for me and my family. You're gonna be a fugitive because of us. It's the least I can do. Besides, I _want_ to go with you. I didn't choose you over my brother for you to just abandon me and go on the run."

"I know you didn't." Brian could see the determination in her eyes. He knew he couldn't stop her. He wanted to be with her, but he didn't want her to be in danger. He didn't want her to throw away her life and her opportunities by going on the run. But, he would at least be able to look after her himself. That gave him some peace. "We're going on the run together. How romantic." He chuckled when Mia rolled her eyes and hit him in the arm. She was trying to play tough, but he could see the slight smile on her face. In that moment, he just loved her more. He almost forgot Jesse was with there with them, but it didn't take long until he addressed the other blond. "You comin' with us too, right, Jesse?" he asked, turning around to face the younger man.

Jesse stared at Brian for a moment before smiling. "Sure. I mean, if you don't mind…"

"Of course we don't mind, Jesse!" Mia told him. "We're family!"

Jesse nodded. "Then I'm comin' with you guys! By the way, I ain't mad at you," he told Brian.

Brian blinked. "You're not?" he asked. "Even though I lied to you?"

"Yeah." Jesse nodded. "It's true you lied, but you also saved my life, got that helicopter out for Vince, and you let Dom go. So, I guess you're still on our side, right?" He smiled. "Besides, it's nice to have someone to talk about cars with."

Brian smiled. Jesse had been one of the first to accept him into the team. He was like a kid brother that everyone looked after, and Brian ended up feeling like an older brother for him, too. When Jesse had bet his pink slip, he had warned him not to, and he had been worried when he drove away. When he and Mia were on their way back to the house after the failed heist, Brian had suggested putting Jesse in protective custody to protect him from Tran, but Mia was too worried about Jesse being around cops. Just because she trusted Brian, it didn't mean she trusted the LAPD. In the end, they had agreed to go after Jesse together after they got Dom into their side.

When Johnny and Lance drove by and shoot them, he had managed to react and protect Jesse and Mia. He had gotten injured in the process, but to him, it was worth it. He didn't know exactly when Dominic Toretto and his crew became so dear to him, but he didn't care either way. They were the family he never really had. His mother was dead, and Roman had resented him ever since he was sent to prison (even though Brian really didn't know about his friend's arrest). Brian only had Tanner—the only person he had truly bonded with while working for the LAPD—and even he didn't make Brian feel as home as he felt while being the team (although that didn't mean the blond wasn't glad for having Tanner in his life).

"I'm glad," Brian said. Then he addressed both Mia and Jesse—the two people he had promised Dom that he would look after. "Get whatever important stuff you've got. We gotta get outta here as soon as we can. I'll go home and get my stuff. I'll be here in an hour."

"Be careful," Mia told him.

"I will." He kissed Mia quickly on the lips and then got out of the house to get some cab or something that would take him to his home. He needed to be quick if he wanted to get away with it. And even though he was throwing everything he fought so hard to get away in just one day, he never questioned it in his mind. To him, everything he was doing for Mia, Jesse, Dom, and the team was worth it.

* * *

There were no cops around the street.

Good.

Dom drove in the Toyota Supra towards the very same place Letty and Leon were heading to. Baja, Mexico, was supposed to be the place for their future vacation, but it would now be where they would hide until things cooled down and they could return to LA— _if_ they could ever return. Dominic Toretto lived his life a quarter mile at a time, and for ten seconds or less, he was free—but, this time Dom wasn't thinking about freedom. If anything, he was thinking about the lack of it.

He was driving away from his home to prevent himself from going to jail again. But, what was worse to Dom was that his family was breaking apart—it was being separated. He would meet Leon and Letty in Baja, but Baja wasn't home. It wouldn't be the same. What about Vince? Was he alive, or dead? If he was alive, then how would he be able to actually get to Mexico without the cops getting them? Dom wasn't sure. He didn't want to leave his childhood best friend behind, but he had no choice. He would cook up a plan to bring Vince to Baja when he actually got there and met up with Letty and Leon.

But, Vince wasn't the only person in his mind. How was his baby sister, Mia? Even though the fact she chose Brian over him had hurt him, the big brother in him made him accept her choice and respect it. He felt incredibly betrayed, but he would never stop loving his sister and he would never stop wanting the best for her. When Tran came and shot them, he was extremely worried for her wellbeing and that's when he realized that even though Mia betrayed him, he would always forgive her, no matter how long it took. _You never turn your back on family, even when they do._ That was what his father used to say and he intended to follow his word.

Yet, Mia wasn't the only one who would stay with Brian. Jesse was with them, too. How was Jesse? Was he and Mia okay? What would happen to them? Was it a good idea to leave them under the care of the man that had betrayed them by being a cop? But, for some reason, Dominic found himself trusting Spilner—O'Conner, he had to remind himself—and his promise of taking care of Mia and of Jesse. Brian may be a cop, and he did lie, but he had also saved Vince from the truck and he had given Dom the keys to the Supra so that he could get away. Dominic was a proud man, but he was glad for Brian's help. Besides, Dom could tell that Brian really did mean it when he said he would take care of his sister and Jesse.

Maybe he could actually trust the blond cop after all.

Dom wasn't stupid. He _knew_ that a cop letting a criminal go was… well, a crime. He knew Brian practically threw away his job to save him. He also knew that the LAPD wouldn't really let Brian go without some sort of punishment. He didn't think that Brian would let himself go down so easily—but he couldn't really be sure since he didn't know if what he knew about Brian were all lies of if there were some truth in his words—which would mean that Brian would have to go on the run as well in order to save himself, and that meant that Jesse and Mia would go with him.

Dominic sighed. He didn't want this. He didn't want to go on the run. He didn't want his family to break apart. He didn't want Vince to be injured in a hospital. He didn't want Leon and Letty to run to Baja. He didn't want Jesse and Mia to go on the run with someone who practically lied his way into his team—even though Dom did put his trust on Brian to take care of Mia and Jesse, it didn't mean Dominic was happy about Brian's secrets and betrayal. He had never expected that to happen. When Mia, Leon, and Letty had a bad feeling for that last heist, he thought they were just being pessimistic. He definitely didn't expect what had happened.

When Mia told Dom about her worry and her opinion about the heists, Dom thought she was just worrying way too much. He didn't think that it could go wrong, but despite that, Mia still feared the heists. She thought he was selfish for doing them, although Dom was doing it for himself, her, and the team. But, it was true that they could live out of the garage and the diner, and then there was Race Wars. It wasn't as much money as they would have if they kept pulling the heists off, but it would be enough for them to have a good living. The heists weren't completely necessary. Besides, the heists were what brought the attention of the LAPD and FBI to him. It wasn't the street racing. Brian was sent undercover to bust the ones doing the hijacks. Perhaps, if he and the team didn't do the hijacks, they wouldn't be in this mess.

They wouldn't, to be honest.

And, for the first time in a long while, Dom wondered if the heists were actually a good idea in the first place.

* * *

How long had it been since he last set foot on his house? Brian wasn't sure. It felt like ages, even though he was only gone for some weeks. But, he couldn't just sit there and enjoy being back home again. He had to hurry, get his stuff quickly and go. And that's exactly what he did. The wound in his left arm didn't slow him down either. He could deal with the pain, and besides, the situation he was in didn't really make his arm that relevant—he could get it patched up later. He probably looked like a cartoon—running around the house like a mad man throwing things into bags—but he didn't care. He didn't have that many things, so he didn't take so long to pack everything up.

Brian looked around. He didn't think there was anything else he should take left. There was only one thing he had to do. He got his badge—the badge he fought so hard to get—and put it hanging in his bathroom's mirror. Brian smirked. That had to be one of the best ways to say, 'I am done. I quit.' But, even though being a cop didn't really matter anymore—he couldn't be one after he let Dominic go, anyways—he did feel kind of sad to leave the LAPD just like that. He had been in there for years. He didn't care about what Bilkins or Muse would think, but he did care about Tanner. He knew Tanner had faith in him, and he felt like he was letting him down.

He had to remind himself why he was doing all this. He was doing this for Mia, for her and her family. To get the Detective badge he wanted, he had to excel in undercover. Luckily for him, he was pretty good at it. He was a great liar, after all. However, when he had gone undercover to bust the hijackers, he had never expected himself to fall in love with the target's sister. That was probably the most pathetic thing that had ever happened to him while going undercover. If Roman were there, he would say that Brian always get in trouble over a female. He wouldn't let him live in peace without bothering him with that one. And as much as Brian hated to admit it, maybe Roman was right. He did get into that situation because his feelings for Mia.

But, his feelings for Mia were enough to keep him going. That's why after locking his house he rushed to his car—a red Mitsubishi 3000 GT—and put all his bags into the car, before getting himself into it and driving to the Toretto home, without even looking back to his own house. He didn't care if he had to leave or go to on the run. Being with Mia just made it worth it.

* * *

"Where'd you get that car?" Jesse questioned, looking at Brian's red Mitsubishi 3000 GT. He didn't know what he had been expecting for when Brian came back, but he definitely wasn't expecting the so-called cop to have such a car.

Brian rolled his eyes as he helped Mia with her bags. "I had a life before I went undercover to bust you guys, y'know?"

Jesse shrugged. "Yeah, but I didn't think cops would have cool cars."

Brian paused. He didn't really think Jesse actually said an indirect to him, but there was a part of him that was worried. Still, he didn't show it. "Yeah, but I'm not your average cop," the blond replied with a smirk. "I'm not a cop anymore, by the way."

"You're not?" Mia asked, and Brian could hear the hint of happiness in her voice.

"I'm going on the run with you two after letting Dominic Toretto of all people walk away free," he said, putting the bags into the car. "And I left my badge at my place. So, yeah, not a cop anymore."

"Well, that's good," Jesse said. "You're way too cool to be one of those pigs, anyway."

Brian laughed while Mia smiled. The three of them finished putting their bags into the car and then got into the car. Brian was driving, Mia was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, and Jesse sat in the back. "So, where are we going?" Jesse asked as Brian started up the engine.

"Wherever we can get some cash and lay low," Brian replied with a shrug.

"Dom and the others will probably go to Mexico," Mia said. "That's where he always said we'd go for vacation. I'm sure they all are going to Baja."

"We can't," Brian said quickly.

"What?" Mia frowned. She didn't want to be separated from her brother or her friends, even though she chose to stay with Brian. She was hoping that they would all be able to escape and meet somewhere, but her boyfriend didn't seem to agree. "Why not?"

"Because Mexico isn't the best place to run," the former cop said. "It's rough, even with a bit of cash. We need to get more money if we actually wanna survive. Besides, it's probably where the cops would look for us since it seems like the safest bet. We should go somewhere else, stay low and earn some cash for a while. Then, when the LAPD and the FBI's attention on us decrease, we take our chance and go to Baja." He turned to look at Mia in the eyes. "It's the best way, Mia. I know you don't wanna be apart from your brother and the team, but we need to make sure we'll be out of the Feds' radar by the time make our move and join the others."

Mia sighed. "I understand," she said. "Let's just go." Brian nodded and began driving.

Jesse wasn't happy about what was happening. He wanted to go with Dom and the others, but he still felt guilty for driving away when he lost the race to Tran, so he didn't complain. He still felt at fault. So, instead, he thought about his friends and realized there was someone that wouldn't be able to escape in time. "What about Vince? He's still at the hospital, isn't he?"

Brian sighed. "I guess."

"Oh, God…" Mia murmured. "Vince can't escape by himself right now. Brian, the cops will get Vince before he can go anywhere. We gotta help him!"

"We can't!" the eldest of the three said.

"Why not?!"

"Because he's still injured, and we can't get him out of the hospital right now, unless you want Vince dead," Brian said.

"Of course I don't want Vince dead!" Mia argued. "But, I don't want him in prison either!"

Brian ran a hand through his hair. "I know, but as long as he's in the hospital, he won't be sent to prison. When I called the chopper, Vince was just some man that was hurt in the highway. That'll give him some time. If he heals before the cops realize he's there, he can get away in time. Let's just hope that's the case."

Mia and Jesse nodded. The three of them sat in silence as Brian drove away from their home and into the lives of running fugitives that they didn't want, yet they had to deal with in order to prevent prison. But, they knew it could have ended much worse for them. They had lucked out that they were still alive and managed to get away in time, and for that, they were graceful. They just hoped they would be able to keep it up for as long as they had to, and that themselves and their loved ones would be okay.


	3. Welcome to Miami!

The drive had been pretty quiet. They had no idea where they were going in the first place. Brian was pretty much driving aimlessly. They stopped at a random McDonald's for lunch, but that was the only stop they had. Even at lunch, they didn't really say much. They didn't really know what to say. They talked about random things, but not of what was right in front of them—the fact that they were on the run. It wasn't until around 7 p.m. that Brian said something about their current predicament.

"We need to find somewhere to stay, at least for the night," the former LAPD officer said. "If we don't, then we'll have to sleep in here, and that won't be too comfortable. I don't think people would recognize us if we go to some motel, so we can go there."

Mia nodded, getting out the map they had brought along. "I'll see if there are any motels around here."

Luckily for them, the nearest motel wasn't so far away, and it was near a fast food restaurant. It would be a half an hour drive to get there. They could get dinner and get somewhere to spend the night in, which they were graceful for. They weren't stupid. They knew they couldn't take their luck for granted.

"I hope we can get away with this," Jesse said. "I don't wanna spend the rest of my life runnin', but I don't wanna be in jail like my dad. It'd be terrible, and besides, we'd have no fast cars to drive. Imagine that? No engines to work on!"

Brian chuckled slightly. Leave it to Jesse to add cars and engines into any conversation. "Yeah, that would suck." Jail definitely sucked, and not only because the lack of cars. It was terrible for many reasons. For a second, Brian thought of Roman, but he quickly shoved that thought to the back of his mind. Roman blamed him for getting caught, but Brian knew it wasn't his fault. He hadn't even known Roman had been arrested until it was too late, but even then Roman thought he was guilty because he was a cop.

Brian had gone to visit Roman once, but his once best friend had been pissed to see him there and pretty much demanded to never see him again. Roman didn't want to accept that getting arrested was his own fault, and Brian had given up trying to reason with him. As much as Brian wanted his friend in his life, he just accepted life as it was. After all, Brian was the one who chose to be a cop. Becoming a cop was supposed to be a new start, but it had all blown up in his face in the end. Brian somehow ended on the wrong side of the law _again_. He guessed he would just have to start over, again. "If we get away with this, then maybe we can make a fresh start."

"We'd have to know you first," Mia said, looking at her boyfriend. Brian glanced at her, knowing full well what she was talking about. "We've only met Brian Spilner, but he's not real. The only thing we know about the real Brian is that his surname definitely isn't Spilner and that he's a cop."

"What's your real surname, anyways?" Jesse asked.

"O'Conner," Brian replied. "And that's not all you know about me, Mia. You know about my family, and that I went to juvie."

"I do, but that's not enough, Brian!" Mia argued. "I want to be with you, but I have to know you. I can't just be with a stranger. Spilner wasn't a stranger, but O'Conner is and that has to change."

"It will," Brian replied smoothly. "There's no point in lying anymore. You'll get to know me as quickly as you got to know Spilner. Hell, even quicker."

"That's what I hope," Mia mumbled.

Brian was about to reply, but he got cut off when Jesse spotted the motel they were looking for. "Here it is!" the youngest of the trio exclaimed.

After they pulled over, the tree of them got out of Brian's car and walked towards the motel. The three of them checked in—one room for Brian and Mia, and another one for Jesse. The fact he was sharing a room with Mia made Brian hopeful that maybe she wasn't as angry as he thought she would be. They left their bags in the room and went to get some food in the fast restaurant near the motel. They went and ordered their food to the casher—a dyed red-hair who kept eyeing Brian as he told her what they would eat. Even after they got their order and went to a table to sit, the girl still glanced at the blond.

Jesse glanced at the girl and chuckled. "Damn, Bri, that girl's totally checkin' you out!"

Brian glanced at the casher with disinterest before looking at Jesse. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Jesse laughed. "Don't act like you didn't notice!"

Honestly, Brian did notice. He just didn't care. He wanted to be with Mia, not with some random casher girl from a fast restaurant he couldn't even remember the name of. "I noticed. It doesn't mean I care though," he shrugged.

"Man, dawg, if I were you I'd be hitin' on the girl right now! She's hot," Jesse grinned, but then he glanced at Mia. "But, then again, you're already datin' someone."

"Yeah, he is," Mia rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the girl staring at her boyfriend. Even though she felt slightly resentful about his lies, that didn't mean she wanted girls eyeing her man. She believed that she would get to know Brian O'Conner in time, and that they would make their relationship work out. They wouldn't let what happened come between them so easily. She may be foolish for this, but she trusted him, because she loved him. If she didn't, she wouldn't have chosen Brian over Dom. "And don't you forget it."

"I haven't," Brian reassured her.

They ate their meal—French fries and a hamburger—and then they made their way to the motel to get some sleep. They knew they would probably have to spend the whole next day driving, so they had to get a good night's sleep. Brian and Mia wished goodnight to Jesse and they went to their respective rooms. Brian and Mia got into their room together and began getting ready for bed. Mia went to the bathroom to get into her pyjamas while Brian stayed in the room. He wouldn't have minded if Mia changed clothes in the bedroom—not at all—but he understood that she was mad. He kicked off his shoes, took off his shirt—wincing slightly in pain because of his wound in his arm—and changed into some pyjamas pants before lying in bed, resting his back against the headboard.

Some minutes later, Mia finally came from the bathroom in her pyjamas and with a first aid kit he had no idea where she got from. "We need to get your wound patched up," she said, sitting beside him. It didn't take long for her to patch it up, and as soon as she finished she went into the bathroom again to leave the first aid kit there. She walked back to the bed quietly and got in it beside Brian.

There was a bit awkward silence for a moment and Brian decided to break it. "Hey."

Mia looked up at the blond beside her. "Hey…"

There was a little bit more silence. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she lied. Mia wasn't okay, really. Not only did she still feel a bit betrayed and angry because of Brian's lie—even though she was forgiving him and wanted to work things out with him—but she was worried about Dom and the team. She didn't know if they made it and she was terrified for their wellbeing. "I'm just worried about Dom and the others…"

"They'll be fine," Brian reassured her.

"That's what I hope," she sighed.

"Hey, the day Dom lets a cop catch him will be the day the world ends. Don't worry about it," the blond said.

Mia glanced at Brian. "Well, he let you in the team, so I guess it wouldn't be so hard to catch him, eventually. You would've if you hadn't blown your cover."

Brian stayed quiet for a little before nodding slightly. "Yeah, fair point."

There was an awkward silence after that. They both quietly agreed that they should get some sleep, but as soon as they were under the covers, Mia couldn't take the silence anymore. "Brian?"

"Yeah?"

"You think they'll catch us?"

Brian turned to look at her. "I dunno," he said after a moment. "But, I do know that we won't make it easy for them."

Mia chuckled despite the situation. "That's for sure." She cuddled to his side and resting her head on his chest. Yes, she still felt mad because of his lies, but she really wanted to be with him, and she was confident that they would be able to pull through together somehow. "Goonight."

Brian kissed her forehead. "Night."

Soon enough, the two of them were asleep.

* * *

Two weeks later, they were in Arizona. It shouldn't have taken them so long, but since they were on the run, they were keeping low, going to every single little town in the map before continuing their journey. So far, they hadn't had run-ins with cops, and they were glad about that.

"So, how does it feel bein' back home, Bri?" Jesse asked the older man with a grin as they sat in a diner for breakfast.

Brian looked at Jesse with questioning eyes. "Home?"

"Well, yeah," Jesse shrugged. "You said you were from Arizona. Unless that was part of your cover…"

"It was," Brian admitted.

"Where are you from then?" Mia questioned curiously.

"Barstow."

"Wait! You're from California, too?!" Jesse asked excitedly.

Brian chuckled at the mechanic's excitement. "Yeah."

"Did you live in Barstow your whole life? Or did you live somewhere else?" Mia asked.

"I lived in Barstow my whole life, until, uh—well, until some shit went down and I decided to leave," Brian admitted, pausing a little as he remembered why he left his hometown. "Then I went right to LA and that's where I've been since then."

Mia furrowed her brows as she noticed how Brian paused. It seemed like he was hesitating to tell them what had happened. That made her curious. "What happened?"

"It's—it's complicated," Brian replied.

"You can tell us," Mia insisted, putting her hand on Brian's reassuringly.

Brian looked at Mia before sighing. "Well, I told you about my friend—Rome."

Mia nodded, but Jesse looked confused. "Rome?" he questioned.

"Roman Pearce. My friend since childhood," Brian paused. "Well, at least he _was_ my friend."

"Was?" Mia frowned. She remembered Brian told her he and Roman were at odds, but he hadn't said anything about stopping being friends entirely.

"Yeah. Well, you see, after we were released and graduated high school and whatever, we didn't have anything to do. We were just two kids from the streets. Money was tight, and we needed some. Roman's uncle had a garage where we worked but he didn't have enough funds to actually pay us permanently for our work, so we needed to find new ways to get cash. I figured that I could be a cop—I mean, it was that or doing criminal stuff and probably going to jail, and I had no intention of going there. So, uh, I joined the academy and worked hard to get my badge. But, Rome, he—uh—well, he didn't take too kindly the fact that I had become a cop. Basically, he saw me as the friend that turned into the enemy. I tried to save our friendship and show him that even though I was a cop, I was still the same guy I've always been and that I was still his friend."

"And did he believe you?" Jesse asked.

Brian shrugged. "Sometimes, it felt like he did, but then he'd go defensive and distant, and then it became obvious that he didn't really trust me. He never trusted authorities, and he wasn't sure if he should trust me, you know, because I was one of them now. That didn't stop me from trying though. Rome was my best friend since childhood, and I wanted it to stay that way. But, then, shit went down and it completely destroyed whatever was left of our friendship."

"What do you mean?" Mia inquired.

"Well, two months after I graduated from the academy, Rome was busted in a garage raid. He had eight sets of wheels in his possession, each and every one of them hot. I didn't even know what was goin' down, and by the time I found out, it was way too late to do anything about it."

"Damn," Jesse commented.

"Yeah. So, anyways, after he was arrested he blamed me because I was a cop. I tried to tell him that I didn't know and that it wasn't my fault when I went to visit him, but he wouldn't listen and pretty much told me he never wanted to see me again." Brian sighed. "I couldn't handle the guilt of having my best friend in prison—even though I _knew_ I wasn't to blame—and I decided to just leave Barstow and go somewhere else. I decided to go to LA, mainly because it was near and because I love the ocean and LA's got good waves," he laughed slightly. "No, but seriously, I thought LA would be a good place for a fresh start, so I transferred to the LAPD and I've been working there since."

Brian looked at his hands. He hadn't told anyone about why he had left Barstow other than Tanner and it actually felt good to let it out of his chest. He hated that Roman still resented him, but he wouldn't beg for forgiveness if he had nothing to blame for. That didn't mean he didn't hope that someday he and Roman would be friends again, although by that point it felt like it would never happen.

"Brian…" Mia squeezed his hand and he looked up to gaze into her eyes. "I'm sorry about what happened with Roman."

Brian shook his head. "No, it's okay. That was a long time ago, anyways."

"Is that why you let my brother go? After what happened with Roman…?"

Brian stayed quiet for a moment, before nodding slightly. "I think that has something to do with it, yeah. That doesn't mean that you and the team aren't one of my reasons though, because you are." Not to mention the fact that, in the moment he gave Dom his keys, he respected Dom more than anyone else, even himself.

"I know," Mia smiled.

"It's amazing to think how if it wasn't for you getting in our side we might be in jail right now," Jesse said. "We really do owe you."

"No, you don't," Brian shook his head. "I let you all go free because I wanted to. Besides, I really fucked you guys over when everything went down. You don't owe me anything. If anything, I owe you."

"Let's call it even," Mia suggested. "Deal?"

"Deal."

* * *

After participating and winning a lot of street races all around Arizona and New Mexico, the trio finally arrived to Texas. They had gained quite a lot of money from the races—enough for them to buy food and pay nights at motels. Mia didn't like to participate in races—even though she was an amazing driver herself—and Jesse was hesitant to race after what happened with Johnny Tran, so Brian was the one who had to race to get cash.

Before the Toretto case, whatever experience that Brian had was mainly joyriding and some impromptu races he had along Roman and some other kids. However, he was pretty much the LAPD's best candidate for the job, and Tanner believed in him. It was then when he began training for the case and began racing for real. He had raced in some races outside of LA, and had even won some of them. Sure, he still had some trouble racing when the case started and Dom won when they first raced, but he was getting better and by now, he won every race he was in. He even impressed Mia and Jesse, and he was proud of that.

They were now sitting at a diner for lunch. Brian and Mia were talking while Jesse was glancing at a girl seated behind Mia while he acted like he was reading the newspaper so he wasn't so obvious like Brian had suggested.

It was then when he saw a picture of Brian in the newspaper. "Oh, shit."

Both, Brian and Mia, turned to look at the youngest of the trio. "What is it, Jess?" Mia asked worriedly.

"You should take a look at this, Bri," Jesse told him, handing him the newspaper.

Brian looked at the picture of himself in the paper and cursed. "Fuck." He glanced around to assure himself no-one was watching or paying them attention and he slid the paper to Mia. "I knew the FBI would probably be lookin' for me but I didn't think they'd be that desperate."

Mia looked at the picture and then glanced at her boyfriend with worry in her face. "What are we gonna do?"

"Honestly?" Brian asked rhetorically as he closed the newspaper, hiding the picture of him from view. "I don't know. I think we should continue to keep low until we find somewhere where we could stay hidden."

Mia was about to reply until she noticed Brian put his elbows on the table, folding his hands and hiding his face behind them. "What's going on?" she whispered and glanced over her shoulder to see two officers entering the diner. She cursed and looked to her boyfriend and friend as normally as she could. She watched as Jesse took off the beanie he was wearing and gave it to Brian so he could wear it once the officers had sat on the counter with their backs facing them. Brian nodded at him in quiet thanks and put the beanie on.

"Let's go," he whispered, and the two accomplices nodded as they followed the blond out of the diner, neither of them noticing that the girl Jesse had been looking at was watching them leave.

* * *

Later that night, the three were at another motel they found. They had been staying there for a few days, but they knew they would have to leave soon. Brian and Mia were laying in bed in silence, just holding each other, until there was some knocking in their door. Brian groaned, too comfortable to move, but he forced himself out of bed and opened the door to see a panicking Jesse.

"What is it, Jess?"

"Your car!" Jesse was trying not to talk too loudly, looking around worriedly. He was nervous, and he wanted a smoke. But, most of all, he wanted to get out of there to prevent being busted. "The cops are surrounding it."

"What?" Out of all things, his Mitsubishi just _had_ to be found. It was bad enough that they got his car, but to make the matters worse the police would know that the car belonged to him and they would know they were around. They had to leave, and now. "Shit. This is just our luck. Pack your shit, Jesse, and meet us out here. We're leaving."

"In what?"

They didn't have any other car—Jesse's Jetta was wrecked when the Trans shot them and Mia's Acura was back in LA—which meant that they didn't have any options but to walk. Maybe they should've brought the Acura, but that would've hinted that Mia wasn't home anymore. So far, the FBI had launched a manhunt only for Brian—Mia and Jesse's names were never mentioned for some reason. Maybe the cops thought they had left with Dom instead of Brian, which made sense. They didn't think about their reasoning much and instead focused on avoiding them as much as they could.

"In nothing. We have to walk. Now go get your stuff, Jesse. We gotta hurry."

Jesse nodded and hurried back to his room to get his belongings. Mia had overheard the conversation and she was already up and alert. She and Brian packed everything they had as quickly as possible. They left the room, met up with Jesse and the three of them were going the opposite direction of where Brian's Mitsubishi was. While they were walking, Brian accidentally ran into the girl Jesse had been checking out earlier. "Sorry," he muttered, before continuing to walk with Mia and Jesse.

The girl just smiled at him, and then proceeded to walk to her car, watching from the corner of her eye as the cops identified Brian's Mitsubishi. She got in her car and watched the trio leave the motel. She glanced at the newspaper beside her. She knew who they were, who _he_ was. She read the article, and she saw the picture of him. Perhaps she should warn the cops that were around his car that the people they were looking for had just left, but that didn't feel right with her. Instead, she followed the trio and caught up to them a ways down the road. She smiled at the three of them.

"Hey, guys! Need a ride?"

She watched at the three of them glanced at each other before shrugging. They really needed to get out of there as soon as possible and it would be _that_ much faster if they just went by car. "Sure," Brian replied.

The three of them got in the car, Brian in the front seat and both Jesse and Mia in the back. They drove through the night without much conversation. Brian, Mia, and Jesse didn't want to share information to anyone and the girl didn't insist either. She already knew enough from reading the papers, anyway. That didn't stop her from helping them. Brian asked her if she could drop them off in a car dealership. She agreed and by the time it was morning, they had arrived to their destination.

The trio gathered their things and got out of the car. Brian smiled at the girl as he put his hands on the car. Just as he was about to thank her, he noticed the newspaper that she had in the car—mainly because it had his face on it. Mia and Jesse noticed Brian staring at something and they both looked over his shoulders to see the paper. The three of them looked at the girl, somewhat nervously, not knowing what to think. She knew about them. Then why did she help them?

The girl smiled at the expressions in their faces. She could imagine what they were thinking. Honestly, she had no idea why she had decided to help them. She had read in the paper that the blond guy was an undercover cop that let a fugitive go, supposedly because personal feelings got in the way. She knew there was a manhunt to get him, and that it wasn't a good idea to help them, but she found herself wanting to do so. She didn't know the guy, but he seemed like the kind of guy that wouldn't do things without a reason. And if it was because of his personal feelings, then it couldn't have been for any better reason.

"Good luck," she told them, smiled at them one more time, and she drove off, going to continue her journey and letting them continue theirs.

"Why would she help us?" Jesse wondered as he followed Mia and Brian to the car dealership.

"I don't know, man," Brian said.

"Maybe because she thought you were hot," Mia commented dryly. When her boyfriend glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, she rolled her eyes. "She was checking you out the whole ride. Don't tell me you didn't notice."

Brian smirked and put an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. "Are you jealous?"

"I just don't like other girls looking at you that way," Mia explained, although she couldn't blame the other girl for checking Brian out. He was gorgeous.

Brian just laughed and kissed her forehead as they neared some men that worked there.

Since they needed to save money, they decided to just buy one car. The men showed them some few cars, but neither of them were really interested in any of them. That is, until Brian noticed a 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34. It was something like love at first sight, because as soon as Brian's eyes landed on it, he knew that was the car he wanted. It looked old, abandoned, and it obviously needed some work, but Brian still liked it. With some of the money they had from the races, they paid for the car.

While they were travelling, Brian worked on the Skyline they had acquired along with Jesse. They modded it and gave it a new paint job—a metallic silver. They went to some street races to win money and Brian won every single one of them with the Skyline. Mia was amused at how attached Brian had become with the Skyline. The car was like his baby, and when she had commented that while they were on the road again, Brian didn't even deny it, much to her amusement. She could understand him, though. She loved her Acura, after all, even though it was back in LA.

Hopefully, they would be able to go back to LA someday, and it wasn't just because her car was there, even though she did miss it a little. No, it was because LA was her home and it would always be, no matter what.

* * *

"So, where do we go now?" Mia wondered, looking at the map that was in a table in front of them. They had arrived to Florida a day ago and found a motel for them to stay, but she wasn't sure where their next destination was at. They had considered going to New York back when they were in Alabama, but they decided against it and decided Florida would be a better stop. However, _where_ exactly in Florida, they hadn't decided.

"I was thinking Miami," Brian said, pointing at where the city was in the map.

"Miami?" Jesse sounded excited about going to Miami.

"Yeah. I heard the street racing scene is big. We could make some cash there, and if we're lucky, then maybe we could find a place to stay for some months instead of just few days."

"But, what if they found out we're in Miami?" Mia asked.

"I don't think they'd find out, and even if they did, Miami is huge. They wouldn't have it easy finding us if we lay low." After three months of constant driving, jumping from place to place every single day, they could really use some stability for a while. A grin formed on Brian's face. "This could be where our fresh start begins," he said, holding Mia's hand and squeezing it reassuringly. Mia smiled back at him and kissed him. Jesse didn't pay attention to his friends making out, lighting a cigarette so he could have a smoke.

"So, Miami it is?" Mia asked once she and Brian parted.

Brian smiled. "Miami it is," he confirmed.

Jesse threw his hands out in the air and laughed in excitement. "This is awesome! We're goin' to Miami!"

* * *

"Miami is huge, man!" Jesse commented in amazement as he looked around the city from the car.

"It really is," Mia agreed.

There were some girls wearing some sexy bikinis that walked beside the Skyline and caught Jesse's attention immediately. "And the girls are hot, too!"

Brian glanced at the girls Jesse was admiring and smirked slightly. He had to admit, they were hot. But, to him, they weren't as beautiful as Mia. No-one was as beautiful as Mia in his eyes.

Mia shook her head. "Is hot girls all men can think about?"

"Nah. Add hot cars, too," Brian smirked. He noticed that she rolled her eyes and he chuckled. "You're hotter than all of them, though—to me, at least."

Mia turned to look at Brian and smirked. "I better be."

They were distracted by the sound of roaring engines. The three of them turned to see two cars turning to their right hand side. Those weren't some normal cars, though. It didn't take long for them to realize those cars belonged to some street racers. Brian, Mia, and Jesse shared a smirk. They had just found a way to get into the street racing world of Miami. Brian followed the two racers down the street and to a place called Tej's Garage.

The first thing they noticed that the parking lot was full of cars. "Looks like this is the place," Mia said as Brian parked the car on the street.

"No kiddin'," Jesse agreed.

The three of them got out of the car and walked into the garage. As they were getting near, they could hear the cheering of people and saw a guy talking into a bull horn as two people raced with their jet skis. The race seemed pretty even, until one of the racers got ahead of the other and crossed the finish line first. The man with the bull horn began telling people to pay up and announcing that the next race would be starting soon.

"Yeah, this is the place," Brian confirmed with a chuckle.

The trio watched as another Jet Ski race started up, with the man still talking and cheering into his bull horn. Just then, a small Asian man came walking towards them. "Hey, y'all! Haven't seen ya before. You new here?" he asked.

Mia smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we are."

The man nodded, then smiled. "Name's Jimmy. Where you from and what brings you to Miami?"

Brian hesitated a little, but quickly covered it up as he answered. "LA. We thought we could use a change of scenery." He smiled. "I'm Brian, she's my girlfriend, Mia, and that's Jesse," he introduced themselves.

Jimmy smiled. "Nice to meet y'all."

"Same," Mia replied.

"What's goin' on back there?" Jesse asked, pointing at the jet ski races.

"Racing," Jimmy replied. "See the guy with the bull horn? That's Tej. He owns the place and he organizes the races around here. Jet Ski, bikes, cars, whatever it is, Tej organizes it. You race?"

Brian shrugged and smiled slyly. "When we feel like it."

"What you race? Cars?"

"Yeah."

"And you any good?"

Brian smirked, not saying anything. Jesse grinned while Mia rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's antics, even though she had a slight smile on her face, showing her amusement.

Jimmy smiled. "You're gonna wait for me to find out, huh?"

"Hell yeah!"

"You're confident, ain't ya?" Jimmy laughed. "Now I wanna know how good you are— _if_ you're any good. I could ask Tej to get you in a race tonight."

"You can ask me to get who in a race tonight?"

They all turned to see Tej walking towards them, being followed by an Asian girl who was wearing a bikini. Jimmy grinned when seeing his friends.

"This guy," Jimmy pointed to Brian. "He says he's a racer, but he ain't tellin' me if he's any good at it."

"And you want him to race to find out?"

"Yeah, man."

Tej grinned, looking at Brian. "I guess I could save a spot for ya. What's your name, fellas?"

"Name's Brian."

"Mia."

"I'm Jesse."

"I'm Tej, and the girl here's Suki," Tej said, nodding to Suki's direction.

She smiled. "'Sup?"

Mia smiled back. "How you doing?"

"Pretty good," Suki replied.

"So, Brian," Tej said, wanting to go straight to business. "What you drivin'?"

Brian nodded to his car that was parked out in the street. "The Nissan Skyline over there."

"Nissan Skyline?" Tej, Suki, and Jimmy chorused. There weren't too many Nissan Skylines in the US, and not many of the people who actually had them raced with them.

"Yeah." Brian grinned when seeing their faces.

"You mind if we see what's under the hood?" Tej inquired.

Brian and Jesse shared a smirk. "It'd be better if you just see what she's made of during the race," the former cop said confidently.

Tej smirked. "Well, I must say, I'm pretty intrigued about this, man. You're in! Come tonight and show us what you got."

Brian smirked. "Got it."

* * *

It was one a.m. and the party was only getting started. Cars were all around the place with people cleaning them, looking at them, and checking out their engines. There were racer bunnies flirting with the men and they obviously didn't mind. Music was pounding from some speakers and there were people dancing around along the beat. People were obviously having fun and they were also excited for the race that was going to happen.

"So, this is the place," Jesse whistled as they arrived in Brian's Skyline. "Looks cool."

"Yeah, it does," Brian agreed. He pulled over and the three of them got out of the car. As soon as they did that, there were a lot of people surrounding them. Many were commenting on the Nissan Skyline—even though Brian, Mia, and Jesse still refused to show what was under the hood—and when they were told Brian planned to race, they had been pretty excited to see the Skyline in action. Some girls went to try and flirt with Brian, but Mia quickly got in their way.

"That's my guy. Get your own!" she said, and the girls pouted and walked away from Brian. Brian raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk, and she shrugged. "What? I'm not gonna let some skanks steal you from me." He just laughed and kissed her.

The girls pouted when they saw Mia and Brian kissing and instead went to talk to Jesse. Jesse didn't mind that girls came over and talked to him—not at all—but it was kind of disappointing that they only came to him once they realized Brian was out of their reach. Not only was he the kid brother, but he wasn't the guy girls checked out first. He would've been thinking more about that, but his ADD got the best of him and he was soon distracted by the girls flirting with him and the cars they had around them. He soon found himself forgetting once again about those insecurities that kept nagging him sometimes ever since what happened with Tran at Race Wars.

Tej was grinning at the scene in front of him, and as soon as he saw Brian, Mia, and Jesse standing next to the Skyline, his grin widened and he walked towards them with Suki and Jimmy right behind him.

"Hey, y'all!" he exclaimed when he reached the group from California. "I see you came in the end."

"'Course we did," Brian laughed.

"That good, man. That good," Tej laughed. "You ready for the race tonight?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Who else is racing?" Mia asked curiously.

"Me, for starters," Suki smirked. "And these other dudes here—Brandon and Joaquin—they're racing, too."

"No idea who they are, but okay," Brian shrugged with a grin.

"So, you think you can beat me?" Suki asked, the smirk still in her face.

"I know I can," Brian smirked as well. "I said I'd surprise you guys and I will."

"Well, I can't wait to see what you're made of," Jimmy commented with a grin.

"We're two," Tej agreed. "Good luck, man." He turned around, raised his hands in the air, and began clapping them to get everyone's attention. "Everyone—the race starts in five minutes!" he yelled, and the crowd started cheering.

"You better smoke those guys!" Mia told Brian.

"I will," he replied before kissing her briefly.

"Good luck, man!" Jesse said.

"Thanks, Jess."

The four racers got to the starting line after giving the money to Tej—2G's. The crowd was wild and cheering. Brian glanced at Suki, Brandon and Joaquin and smirked. He knew he could win the race. Long story short, he did actually win the race. Suki came in second place, Joaquin third and Brandon came last. Brian got out of his car with a cocky smile. Mia and Jesse were cheering for him and they both rushed towards him as soon as he got out of the car. Mia leaped into her boyfriend's arms and she kissed him happily. Around them, the entire crowd was cheering and commenting about the race.

"Man, you saw that?!"

"It was awesome!"

"Way to race a Nissan Skyline, man! Congrats!"

"Did you see him? He was racing as fast as a bullet!"

"He really was!"

"You're a bullet, Blondie!"

Brian laughed at the comments. Tej walked towards them while clapping. "Wow, man, you've impressed me. You definitely weren't kidding when you said you were good."

"You really weren't," Suki said, nearing them. "You totally smoked me out there."

Brian shook his head. "Nah, you were actually pretty good." He extended his hand. "Good race." Suki looked at his hand for a moment, then smiled and shook it.

"It was," she agreed.

"You were great out there, man!" Jimmy complimented.

Tej gave Brian the money he won. "Take it, man. You've won it all."

"Thanks, man." Brian smiled. He began counting the money he won, before handing part of it to Tej. Tej looked at the money surprised, and Brian chuckled at his confusion. "That's my way of sayin' thanks for lettin' me participate."

Tej grinned as he took the money Brian handed him. "I think we're gonna be good friends, Bullet."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "Bullet?"

"Well, you heard the people. You were faster than a bullet while racing, man. I think it's accurate if we call you that to live up with your new reputation, right?"

A lot of, "Yeah!" were heard as the crowd agreed.

Mia giggled and nudged her boyfriend. "Look, _Bullet_ , you got a nickname now!"

"Yeah, it seems like it," Brian laughed, putting his arm around Mia and pulling her closer to him.

"Hey, so now that you've surprised us all, can you finally show us what's under the hood?" Jimmy questioned.

"Sure, man!" Jesse chipped and the two went to talk about what was under the hood of the Skyline. It seemed the two would be great friends since they both were mechanics that loved cars. And they weren't the only ones that became friends because Brian, Mia, Tej, and Suki ended up having a conversation of their own. Mia and Suki actually had a lot in common, and Brian and Tej really got along. Tej even offered them a place to stay when Brian and Mia told him they didn't have anywhere to, as well as the opportunity to work in his garage.

It seemed like having a fresh start in Miami was a good idea after all.


	4. Legal Escape

"You're worried about them, aren't you?"

Dom looked at Han for a second before sighing and gazing back at his hands that were folded on top of the counter. Dom had meet Han in a street race in Mexico and they had become pretty good friends ever since. Han ended up going on the run with him, Letty, and Leon. The two of them had gone to a fast food restaurant to get some food for the team. "Of course I am. I haven't heard about them for over three months."

Hector had informed him that neither of the three of them were back in LA. They hadn't called either. He had tried to call them, but neither of their cellphones were working. Dom guessed that they got rid of them to avoid tracking. He, Letty, and Leon did the exact same thing, so it made sense that they would do it as well. However, no phone meant they had zero way of communicating and that was worrying. They didn't know if Mia, Jesse, and Brian were actually okay or if they were behind bars or dead.

"And they haven't heard from you for three months, too, so you're not the only one," Han commented. "Besides, you're the one who let your sister and your friend stay with the cop."

"I know, but what choice did I have? Mia wasn't going to change her mind, and Jesse was with her. Besides, the cops were coming. I needed to get away."

"But, do you _really_ think it was a good idea?"

"I don't know," Dom confessed after a moment. "But, as I said, it wasn't really my choice. And besides, Brian let me go. He actually gave me his keys to leave. He did a crime when he decided to help me get away. He chose us—his _family_ —over the cops, and he promised he'd look after Mia and Jesse. I have no option but to trust him."

"And where do you think they are now?"

"On the run, probably," Dom shrugged. "I don't know where. I thought they'd go to Baja, since it was kind of obvious we'd go there as well, but then they didn't show up."

"Coming to Baja was probably what the cops expected them to do after you, Letty, and Leon crossed the border. They probably went somewhere else to avoid the cops."

"Probably…" Dom sighed. "But, they're not the only ones I'm worried about."

"Let me guess," Han said. "Vince?"

"Yeah."

"That's a more complicated situation," Han told him. "From what you've told me, I wouldn't be surprised if your friend was still in hospital, but I also wouldn't be surprised if by the cops already figured out his involvements in the heists by now. They're not _that_ stupid."

"I know, I know," Dom muttered. "I've been in contact with Hector. The cops know about him, but he's still recovering, so they're waitin' for him to heal before gettin' him into court. I really don't know how to get him out of this mess, and I'm the one who dragged him into it in the first place. I was the one who thought the heists were a good idea, y'know? Sometimes, I wonder what it would've been like if I had never started doing them in the first place."

"You wouldn't be a wanted man, your team would all be together in LA, and you wouldn't have met Brian," Han deadpanned. "But, those thoughts of yours haven't stopped you from pulling more heists."

Dom knew Han was right. Even though he was wanted back at LA, he still continued pulling a few heists. They weren't as big as what they were doing in LA, but they were still a crime. "Yeah, but this time we actually have a real reason. We need the money if we want to get away."

"There's other ways of winning money," Han said. "Racing is one of them."

"Yeah, but heists bring in more money," Dom shot back. "I'm already a wanted man anyways, so it doesn't matter anymore."

Just then, a girl announced their orders were done and gave the food to them with a smile. The two men took them and walked back to Dom's car—a 1966 Pontiac GTO Convertible he won in a race. He had to abandon the Supra shortly after getting to Mexico in order to prevent the cops from tracking him. Han glanced at Dom as the bald man drove, and noticed that he still seemed distracted, as well as worried.

"If it helps, I could go get your friend back," Han suggested.

"Vince?" Dom questioned.

Han nodded. "You're the wanted man, not me. I can go back to the US, get your friend, and bring him here. The cops won't know what him them until it's too late."

"It's worthless," Dom shook his head in resignation. "The cops got Vince, Han. They won't let you near him. They barely let Hector visit him."

"I can get a lawyer or something," Han shrugged. "There's not much evidence, and the undercover cop who knows everything flipped and ended up running with your sister and your friend. They can't possibly have what they need to pin the blame on Vince. I'll bring him back."

"Han, that's…" Dom was surprised Han would do something like that for him and his friends, and he was really graceful as well. "Thank you, for real."

"It's no problem," Han shrugged, a small smile in his face. "That's what friends are for, I guess."

"Not friends, Han. _Family_."

* * *

How long had he been stuck in that stupid hospital room?

He lost track.

Vince sighed as he looked out at the window. He hated the situation he was in—the situation they were _all_ in. He hated—no, he _despised_ it. And he was mad about it, too. When the cops found Vince and informed him Brian had been an undercover officer all along, Vince wanted to get up from his hospital bed, look for the buster, and kick his ass for all he had done. Everything was perfect until _he_ came along.

If Dom had just listened to him, they wouldn't be in this situation. But, no, Dominic didn't listen to him, and instead let that fucking _cop_ in their team and let him screw everything up. Vince had known he was a cop—he _reeked_ of it, and Vince knew it. But, did anyone listen to him? No. Especially not the Torettos—for some reason, the blond jackass managed to get their trust, and look where that got them.

But, even Vince couldn't deny the fact that the buster actually _saved_ his life. He wasn't stupid. He _knew_ he wouldn't be here right now if Brian hadn't gotten him off that truck and called that chopper for him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't glad, but the anger he felt because of Brian's actions made him deny it. It sucked so much that out of all people the buster had to be the one to save him.

The buster who lied his way into their team.

The buster who was an undercover cop.

The buster that stole Mia's heart.

That same guy was the one that got him off that truck, and it bothered Vince. How long had he been after Mia? She had resisted and ignored all of his attempts to be with her, even though she knew about his feelings. And, then, the buster comes and gets what he had wanted for so damn long—Mia's love. But, _why_? Why _him_? Of all people, Mia had to love the buster. And the buster had only lied in her face, telling her things that weren't true. Vince was _sure_ the jackass only used Mia to get them all thrown into jail, and it angered him.

If he ever saw Brian Spilner—or _O'Conner_ , his real surname, apparently—again, he was going to kill his ass.

For lying to them, for trying to arrest them, and for using Mia.

He was going to pay.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. That caught Vince off guard. The cops that came to try and get answers out of him _never_ really knocked, and the nurses didn't either. He rarely got visitors. Hector came some few times to check on him, but he didn't really knock on the door either. So, who _exactly_ could it be?

He got his answer when an Asian guy Vince had never seen before in his life came into the room. "Well, looks you're healing well," the man commented.

"Who the hell are you?" Vince demanded.

"I'm Han," Han replied. "And you're Vince, right?"

Vince raised his eyebrows. "Yeah. How do you know?"

Han looked at the door discretely before walking closer to Vince, as if to tell him a secret. "Dom told me about you," he whispered so that no-one could hear him.

"Dom?" Vince had mixed feelings—relief, worry, and confusion being some of those. But, mainly, he was glad that his best friend hadn't forgotten about him. "You know Dominic?"

Han nodded. "Met him in Mexico a while ago—been with him and the team since. I offered to get you out of here and bring you to them."

"And why exactly would you do that?"

"Dom's my friend," Han shrugged. "And he seemed really worried about you. I thought I should help him out if I could, so that's why I'm here."

"And not only do the cops not know you're in contact with Dom, but they let you into my room? How?"

"I've got my ways."

Vince wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to go with the team, but how could he be sure this guy wasn't lying? He wouldn't just go and trust anyone after what happened with the buster. "How can I trust you? I don't know you."

"But, Dom knows me," Han pointed out. "I talked to Hector, too. Dom told him about me, apparently. You can ask him."

"Alright." Vince was still hesitant to trust a stranger—especially after what happened with the buster—but if both Dom and Hector knew him and—apparently—trusted him, then maybe he could trust him as well. He was already in a bad situation, anyways. He'd take any chance to get away. "So, you have a plan?"

"Yeah."

"Which is?"

Han shrugged. "Do stuff the legal way. Get a lawyer, and get you out of this mess."

"And you think that'll work?"

"The cops don't have enough evidence," Han said. "They lost the one cop that could testify against you when Brian flipped on them and went on the run with Jesse and Mia, so—"

"WAIT!" Vince's eyes narrowed, and he was shaking in anger. "The buster went on the run… _with_ Jesse and Mia?!"

"Yeah," Han replied. He could understand why Vince would be angry after everything Dom had told him. But, Dom was also right when he said Brian had chosen them over the LAPD. "After he left Dom go, he went on the run and Mia and Jesse went with him."

"And Dominic allowed it?!"

"The cops were coming after him. Said he had no choice but to trust Brian to look after Mia and Jesse."

"Brian was the jackass who went undercover to send our asses to prison, and Dominic trusts him?!" Vince could not believe that, even after all that happened, Dom was _still_ choosing to put his trust in the buster. He thought that his betrayal would be enough to make Dom realize Brian was not trustworthy, but it seemed not. It was bad enough that Dom was still willing to trust that backstabber, but the fact that he _willingly_ let Mia and Jesse under his care was what angered Vince the most. "That same jackass was the one who used Mia to get close to Dom! He used her, I know it! How could Dom let him stay with her after all he'd done?!"

"Dom has his reasons, Vince," Han told him. "He always does. But, that's something we can worry about later. For now just be glad no-one is in prison, and worry about your own situation. If you got something to talk with Dom, do it when you're out of here and back with the team. Okay?"

Vince was _not_ happy about it at all! He wanted to beat Brian up for all he'd done, and he wanted to yell at Dom for being so stupid and oblivious, but even though his mind was filled with anger, he knew Han was right. He needed to get out of there first, so for now, he'd keep his complaints to himself and would let them out when he saw Dom again. "Okay."

* * *

"So, do you like Miami so far?" Suki asked Mia as they walked around a mall with some bags in their hands. The two of them had decided to have some girl time and go shopping.

"Yeah, we do," Mia replied with a smile. They had been staying in Miami for some weeks now, and so far, things were going great. Tej had offered them a place to stay—he gave them a boathouse for Brian and Mia and let Jesse stay at the cot up at his garage. He had even offered Brian and Jesse a job at his garage, an offer neither of the boys could refuse. Mia was happy herself, too. They were still hiding from the authorities, but it was nice not to jump from one place to another all the time. "It really is an awesome place."

"It is," Suki agreed with a smile. "I'm glad you're enjoying it. You can't really get bored around here. There's always something to do. Tej makes sure of that."

"I noticed," Mia chuckled as they entered another shop.

"And your man is doing pretty well for himself in the street racing world," Suki commented. "He's already undefeated there. You must be proud."

"I am," Mia smiled. She was already used to being close to the best racer considering Dom was her brother, and he was the King of the Streets in LA. She was proud of her brother, but sometimes his ego got in his head and it annoyed her. At least Brian was a little more humble, which made Mia prouder. "The only downside is those racer bunnies trying to get him."

Suki laughed. Brian was already an attractive and gorgeous guy, and the fact he was the fastest racer in Miami just made him more appealing to all the girls that attended the racers. She had already lost count of how many skanks had tried to flirt with him. "I bet. But, hey, Brian always ignores them. I don't think he's interested in any woman that isn't you."

"You think?" Mia asked as she looked at a tank top. There was a slight smile in her face as she thought about her boyfriend not paying attention to all those women that tried to talk to him.

"Girl, I've seen the looks he gives you. He's crazy about you."

Mia's smile just grew even more. "That's good to know."

"You two are adorable," Suki commented. "It's like you're made for each other."

Mia shrugged, but the brightness in her smile gave away her bliss. She was really happy that there were people who actually thought they were good for each other. Suki was particularly perceptive when it came to relationships, so the fact it was coming from her made it even better. "Maybe we are."

"So, since we're speaking of relationships now," Suki smirked naughtily as she picked up a pair of shorts. "How's Bullet in bed?"

"Suki!"

"What?" Suki laughed. "C'mon, Mia! You can't help curiosity, and there's not many girls here that can say they've slept with Bullet. We're friends—you can tell me. I won't tell anyone."

Mia blushed. She had never shared any sexual experience with anyone other than Letty, but Letty wasn't there anymore. She was God-knows-where, probably with Dom and the others, and while Suki would never replace her best friend, they had still become pretty close during the few weeks they knew each other. Besides, Mia missed having a girl talk.

"Well, he's…" Mia was still blushing, but there was a huge bright smile in her face as she struggled about an appropriate way to describe it. "He's really _passionate_ , you know—he is…" She sighed dreamily. "He's just great at it."

"Sounds like someone's in love," Suki grinned cheekily, nudging Mia with her elbow.

"I think I am, too," Mia admitted as she looked at a pair of jeans. She wouldn't have given up so much just for any other boyfriend—she wouldn't have chosen her boyfriend over her brother, if her boyfriend was someone else. But, her feelings for Brian were strong enough for her to willingly choose to go on the run with him. And even now, she didn't want to let him go. "I really do."

"You two _act_ like you're in love," Suki commented.

Mia giggled. "Maybe." She smirked. "Since we're speaking of relationships now," she said, repeating what Suki had said to her. "You and Tej?"

"We're not official," Suki quickly said.

"Yeah, whatever," Mia rolled her eyes. "I've seen you guys together—official or not. The fact it doesn't have a label doesn't mean it's not there."

"You got me there," Suki laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I _know_ I'm right," Mia said, walking out of the shop they were in with Suki following behind her. Yes, Suki wasn't Letty, but she was her friend and she was a good company. They got along really well, and Mia was glad for that. "Come on—I wanna go to this shop next."

* * *

"I still have a hard time believing you surf," Jesse commented to Brian as he and Jimmy worked on a car. They were talking about them all going to the beach on Saturday. Brian had commented while they were running across the country that he surfed, and when they got to Miami, he immediately went to buy a surfboard and went to catch some waves.

"And why's that?" Brian questioned as he worked on his Skyline.

"It's just—I dunno, I didn't think someone would do both things—surfin' and racin', I mean."

"You really think it's _that_ weird?" Brian asked curiously.

"Nah," Jimmy shrugged. "It's not that weird around here, really."

Jesse shrugged. "I never really met anyone who raced _and_ surfed."

"You hanged out with Dom and the others," Brian told Jesse. "What, you think Vince would get on a surfboard or somethin'?"

Brian and Jesse began chuckling—the image of Vince getting on a surfboard and falling from it and into the water filled their minds. But, soon, their laughter died when they realized they really didn't know about Vince or what had happened with him. They didn't know whether he healed or not, or if he had been captured or managed to get away.

"You think Vince is okay?" Jesse asked quietly.

"I dunno, Jesse," Brian replied softly.

"Yo, who's this Vince you're talkin' about?" Tej asked as he walked out of his office. Brian, Jesse, and Mia didn't think it was such a good idea to tell Tej, Jimmy, and Suki about the real reason they were in Miami until they were sure they could really trust them. So far, the three of them thought they could actually trust them, but they didn't know when it would be an appropriate moment to actually tell them the truth. They just agreed to tell the truth if they asked them, but so far, they hadn't.

"A friend back in LA," Brian said. "He… wasn't doin' too good when we left. We haven't heard about him for a while."

"That sucks," Tej commented. "I hope the best for your friend, man."

"Thanks, Tej," Brian smiled.

"Yeah, thank you," Jesse said honestly. He missed the team—he really did—but he wasn't complaining. He got along really well with Jimmy, Tej and Suki were great, and Brian and Mia were there. And even though no-one could replace Dom, Letty, Vince, and Leon, Jesse was still glad that things had gone so well for them. He didn't know about the others though, and it worried him. The fact no-one in the news had claimed that the ones pulling the truck heists were captured was a good sign, but they still couldn't know for sure. But, what could he, Mia, or Brian do about it? They just had to hope that everything was going as good for their family as they were going for them.

* * *

"Finally!" Vince exclaimed as he got into Han's car. "I was sick of all this cop bullshit."

"We were lucky they didn't have enough evidence," Han said as he got into the driver's side. After two months, they had finally been able to get Vince free. "If not, they may have taken longer."

Vince groaned at the thought of it. "I would've killed someone if they had me one more minute sitting in that God damned court. It's a good thing that lawyer you and Hector got was good at bullshitting."

"Yeah, well, that's what we paid him for, didn't we?" Han questioned rhetorically as he started his car. "So, you ready to go back with Dom and the others?"

"Yeah, I am," Vince replied. He couldn't wait to be with his friends again, but that wasn't the only reason he wanted to join Dom so badly. "I want to see the others again. And besides, Dominic and I need to talk about some things."

Han didn't even have to ask about what Vince wanted to talk to Dom about. He already knew. He had kept his opinion bottled up for so long, and the Asian knew that as soon as Vince saw Dom, he was going to let his opinion out and he was going to tell Dom about what he felt about Jesse and Mia being with Brian. And that would definitely be one _long_ conversation.

* * *

"So, you never really told us why y'all here," Tej commented as he drank a bit of his beer.

It was pretty late, so they had closed the garage, and only he, Jimmy, Suki, Brian, Mia, and Jesse were left. They were sitting in a table playing a game of cards together. They had been talking about mostly random things and topics, until Brian, Jesse, and Mia began to talk about LA _again_ and Tej couldn't help his curiosity. They seemed to love LA so much that it was weird that they _decided_ to leave. And it looked like Jimmy and Suki were also interested about the answer since they both looked at the trio from California expectantly. Brian, Mia, and Jesse exchanged glances, remembering what they had agreed on—they would tell the truth.

"Well, it's a long story," Brian said.

"It's okay, we've got time," Suki said and Jimmy nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so—uh," Brian glanced at Mia and Jesse and they shrugged, not really knowing where to start. "Well, okay—you promise you won't freak out on me?"

Tej raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you killed a man, O'Conner." He blinked. "Oh, shit—is that why you left?"

"No." Brian thought about when he shot Johnny, and frowned. "At least not exactly…"

"We won't freak out," Suki promised, wanting to hear the story.

"Alright," Brian sighed. "Well, you see—I was a cop." There was a moment of silence, until Jimmy broke it.

"You—a cop?" he said, blinking in shock.

"Yeah," Brian nodded. " _Was_ , though. I'm not one anymore."

"Good to know. I'm not too fond of cops to be honest," Tej said, only half serious.

"Yeah, I noticed," Brian nodded. "But, as I said, I'm not one anymore. Well, anyways—I wanted to get this detective badge really bad, and then this FBI agent shows up—"

"FBI," Jimmy whistled. "Wow, big deal!"

"Yeah. Anyways, this agent shows up and was working with the LAPD on this job—finding out who was hijacking some trucks. They suspected the ones who were poppin' those trucks were from the street racing world, and they needed an undercover agent, and my sergeant thought I was the right man for the job." Brian shrugged. "Probably because I was the only one with a delinquent past that was related with cars. That, and because I'm good at lyin'. But, anyways—this job would give me the detective badge I wanted, so I agreed and I was sent in undercover."

"Wow," Suki said.

"My brother was the best street racer in LA—still is, actually," Mia said. "He's known as the King of the Streets—so, naturally, I guess it was the best place for Brian to begin his investigation. I was working at the family diner when he showed up and started coming frequently."

"Your brother's the best racer of LA?" Jimmy asked in amazement.

"He is," Jesse confirmed.

Brian nodded. "Yeah, anyways, I managed to get Dom's—Mia's brother—trust, and I joined the crew."

"The crew would be Dom, Letty—Dom's girlfriend, Vince—Dom's best friend, Leon, and me," Jesse said.

"At the beginnin', I was just doin' my job—y'know, lookin' for evidence and all. But as time passed, I began to get attached to the crew—and to Mia," he smiled at her. "It started to feel like bein' the cop was the lie, and bein' in Dom's crew wasn't. I had done undercover work before, and that had never happened to me, so I didn't know what to think. I had fallen in love with Mia—the mark's sister—and I began to care for the team. I didn't respect the department I was working for—and I didn't respect myself either—but I respected the team, and I respected Dom. I was hopin' that they wouldn't be the ones pullin' the heists, because I didn't want to send them to jail, and so I tried to look evidence to pin the blame on someone else."

"And did you succeed?" Suki asked.

"No," Brian shook his head.

"We were the ones pullin' those heists," Jesse admitted.

"I tried to convince Dom not to do it, but he didn't listen to me," Mia said in frustration. "I had a feeling something was wrong, but as always he didn't listen to me. Shit hit the fan, and the heist went completely wrong."

"I wasn't there in the last one," Jesse said, feeling guilty. "Maybe if I had been there, things would've been different, and things wouldn't have gone to hell."

"Don't blame yourself, Jesse!" Mia told him. "It definitely wasn't your fault. The truckers would've been armed anyways. It didn't matter if you were there or not."

"Mia's right," Brian said.

"Maybe…" Jesse sighed.

"The truckers were armed?" Suki asked and the three nodded.

"I had to blow my cover," Brian admitted. "I knew the truckers were armed now. They were tired of the hijackings so they were takin' matters into their own hands. I had to tell Mia the truth so that she would help me."

"I was so mad at Brian," Mia admitted. "I felt betrayed, and I felt used, too. I couldn't believe that the first guy that actually put me first was an undercover cop." Brian reached over and squeezed her hand. He hated that he made her feel that way. She smiled slightly and looked at him with love. "But, then he blew his cover in front of my brother to save our friend—Vince—that was dying. Brian had told me that he hadn't been lying when it came about his feelings, but I didn't believe him until he saved Vince. He jumped to a moving truck to save him!"

"You _what_?!" Jimmy yelped while Tej and Suki looked at them with wide eyes.

Brian smirked. "Yeah."

"Anyways, I was tired of Dom's decisions, so I decided to stay with Brian," Mia said.

"It didn't end at that though," Brian said. "There was this guy that was looking to kill Jesse. He came and drove by the house with his cousin shootin' everything up."

"He almost killed me, too," Jesse admitted. "You saved me when you threw me to the ground to avoid the bullets. I owe you my life."

"I already told you—after what I did, you guys don't owe me anything. If anything, it should be the other way around," Brian told him. "Anyways, Dom and I went after him and his cousin. I shot him, actually. After that, Dom and I raced, but then this truck showed up and totaled Dom's car. The cops were coming, so I gave him the keys and let him go."

"Leon and Letty had already escaped, so Dom probably went after them," Mia said. "Jesse and I stayed with Brian and the three of us went on the run together after Brian let Dom go. As far as we know, no-one of us been captured, but we can't know for sure. We don't have how to contact Dom. We don't want to call LA so that we don't lure the cops to where we are. But, we're still worried—especially about Vince. He was sent to a hospital last time we heard about him—we don't know if he got away or not."

Brian nodded. "Yeah… In our case, we've been on the run ever since and that's how we ended up here."

"Wow," Jimmy was shocked.

"That sounds like a movie," Suki commented.

"It really does," Tej nodded. "No wonder you never really told us. That's one hell of a story, right there."

"You're not… mad or anything?" Mia asked hesitantly.

"Why would we be?" Tej asked. "You're our friends, man. We're here for you. Don't worry, I don't think the cops will get y'all here. You're safe with us." Suki and Jimmy nodded in agreement.

Brian, Mia, and Jesse smiled. "Thanks, guys," Brian said softly.

Suki smiled back. "That's what friends are for, right?"

* * *

"Ol' Coyote!" Leon laughed as he ran to Vince. Ever since Han called confirming he and Vince were on their way, he had been jumping around waiting to finally see his old friend. "You made it!"

"Yeah, I did," Vince grinned as he bumped fists with Leon. "Took a while, but here I am."

"It's good to have you here," Letty hugged him. "How's your arm?"

"Still hurts to move it sometimes, but other than that, it's good," Vince shrugged. "I'm used to it already."

"That's good," Letty said. "Good to see you're okay, man."

"Vince!" Dom smiled as he walked to his best friend. "Glad to see you're healed up."

"Dom," Vince nodded as he smiled. "Good to see you, brother."

"Good to see you, too, Vince," Dom grinned. "You had us really worried, man. You have no idea how glad we are to have you back. Come in! We've got food ready for us to eat. We were waitin' for you."

They all entered the small place Dom had rented with some money from the heists. Inside there was a table full of food, like it was a typical Sunday barbecue. But, it couldn't be one if there were people missing. Vince looked around, and noticed there was no-one else in the little house. Only himself, Han, Dom, Letty, and Leon. The absence of the other family members was obvious, and Vince couldn't stop himself from asking to get the answers he had wanted for so long. "Hey, Dominic?"

"Yeah, Vince?"

"What's this about Mia and Jesse stayin' with the buster?"


	5. Bro Time

The silence that reigned after Vince asked that question was deep, and tension in the room was obviously present as well. Letty and Leon shared a look, both knowing this couldn't end well. Han sighed and shook his head—he should've known this would happen.

Dom let out a sharp breath through his teeth. He knew he would have to tell Vince what had happened, eventually, but he didn't think it would be so soon. Vince had literally just arrived! But, he knew he couldn't just say they'd talk about it later—Vince wouldn't have it, _especially_ because he had feelings for Mia and because he hated Brian's guts.

"What about it?"

"What about it?" Vince snapped. "What do you mean, _what about it_?!"

"You already know what happened," Dom said, trying to keep calm. "I'm sure Han told you already."

"Yeah, he told me," Vince replied, walking closer to Dom. "But, I still don't understand. Why did you _let_ this happen? Why did you leave Mia and Jesse with that _pig_?!"

"Because I didn't have a choice!" Dom argued. "The cops were comin'. I couldn't just stay there waitin' to be arrested—I had to escape!"

"And leave them with that fucker?!" Vince yelled, anger growing in him as each second passed. "After all he did to us—after he tried to send us to _jail_ —you let him just stay with _your sister_ and _our friend_ , like if he'd never screwed us over! I told you he was a cop, and yet you never listened! It took him blowing his fucking cover in your face to _notice_ it, and even then you act like he was still part of this family—"

"Mia _chose_ to be with him, okay?!" Dom yelled back. Vince halted when he heard those words at once. "I wasn't the one that decided that Jesse and Mia stayed with Brian! I wasn't the one that wanted to trust him! But, Mia wanted to believe him. _She decided_ to stay with him. She chose _him_ over me, Vince! Over _us_!"

Vince couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't believe that Mia would just go and chose the buster over them. He just couldn't. "Mia wouldn't do that—"

"Well, then think again 'cause she did!" Dom refuted. He was still hurt of his sister's betrayal, but what could he do about it? "You know how stubborn Mia is. You know she won't change her mind. And Jesse was with her. I had no option but to trust Brian and believe him when he promised he'd look after Mia and Jesse."

"And you still believed him?!" Vince questioned, the fact Mia decided to stay with the buster still sinking into his head, his heart aching at the thought of her choosing that _jackass_ over them.

"He gave me the keys to his car when mine was crashed. He _let me go_. He chose us over his job, Vince. He chose us over the cops," Dom said, his deep voice going quiet. "He committed one serious crime by letting me go, and he did it willingly. Maybe he isn't so bad—"

"Why the hell are you defending him?!"

"Because he makes Mia happy!" Dom yelled. "I don't know _why_ , but Mia wants to be with him, and he makes her happy. How can I just deny her that? After everything that happened was my fault?"

"It wasn't your fault—" Letty began to say.

"It was, Letty, and you know it," Dom spoke gravely. "If I hadn't decided to keep doin' the heists, then we wouldn't be here."

"But, we are," Leon joined in the conversation. "And it hasn't stopped us from pullin' more heists."

"We're already wanted," Dom said, reaching for his beer and taking a sip. "It doesn't matter anymore. And besides, Mia's not around anymore, so the fact I'm pullin' these heists won't ruin her happiness."

"Do you really think she's happy when we're on the fucking run, Dom?" Letty questioned.

"I don't know, but at least she has someone that makes her happy," Dom mumbled. "Brian will take care of her."

"And what about Jesse, dawg?" Leon frowned. He had asked that question several times before and he never once got an answer he actually liked. He missed having his friend around, and it worried him that he couldn't know how he was.

"Brian said he'd take care of him, too."

Vince grunted in anger. "I still believe trusting that buster is bullshit—"

"Well, there's not a damn thing we can do about it 'cause what's done is done!" Dom was tired of having the same conversation again, even though Vince had never been a part of it before. It tired him that they kept questioning his decision of leaving Mia and Jesse with Brian. He didn't like it, just like they didn't. He could understand why they were hesitant, but couldn't they understand him? Couldn't they understand that he didn't have a choice? "It doesn't matter if we like it or not. Mia and Jesse are with Brian and they're probably on the run, and we're down here on the run, too, and all we can do is fuckin' pray that no-one will get caught and that our decisions don't blow in our faces. That's all!"

There was a tense silence after that. "So, uh, should we eat?" Han asked, trying to break the silence and lighten up the mood.

Dom nodded, trying to relax. "Yeah, we should."

He looked at the others who nodded in agreement, even though he could still notice the anger in Vince's face. They sat around the table, said grace, and then began to eat. But, the barbeque couldn't completely get rid of the tense atmosphere that was present, even though it did lighten it up a little. They all hated it. They weren't happy about the situation at all, but what could they do about it?

* * *

"This is nice," Mia commented as she snuggled into Brian's chest.

It was a nice day, and the two of them had decided to take some time for themselves and go on a date. They hadn't really been in a date since six months ago back in LA, so it was nice to finally spend some time between the two of them. They had driven to the beach—a place they both loved—and set up a picnic in a little area which not too much people around that they had found when they came with their friends some weeks ago. It was hidden by some rocks and had a perfect view of the sea. It was like their own, little place.

Brian smiled as he kissed her neck. "Yeah. This is a good idea. We should do it more often."

"We should," Mia agreed. They had finished their lunch a while ago and now they were just sitting there, enjoying the view, and talking about life. "I remember when Dad was alive, and he'd take us all to the beach for the whole day. Those were great days."

"I never really saw the beach until I left Barstow and went to LA," Brian admitted. "I had always been interested in the ocean, and when I saw it for the first time, I totally fell in love with it. Then I saw these guys surfin' and I decided I'd try it out. So, I bought a surf board and spent the next few weeks tryin' to learn."

"And you did a good job at that, because now you're great at it," Mia grinned. She had watched Brian surf a lot of times before, and she could not complain about the view. "It looks like a lot of fun, too."

"It is," Brian agreed. He grinned when an idea came into his mind. They had come to the beach with their swimsuits on and he had brought his surf board in case there were good waves. "Hey, why don't you learn how to surf?"

"What?" Mia looked at Brian like if he was crazy.

"You heard me."

"I can't surf," Mia argued.

"That's why I said 'learn'," Brian refuted. "C'mon, Mia, it's fun. You'll like it!"

"Uh…"

"Trust me, it'll be great!" Brian assured her, standing up and giving her his hand to help her stand up as well.

"Alright," Mia laughed.

Surfing was _not_ easy—not at all. Mia lost count of how many times she fell off the board, and while that must've been a normal thing considering she had never surfed in her life, it was still frustrating. Especially since Brian always ended up laughing. She couldn't even last five seconds on the damn board!

"Okay, I'm done!" Mia declared once she fell off the board again. She glared at her laughing boyfriend. "It is not funny, damn it!"

"Aw, c'mon, babe! Don't get mad," Brian chuckled.

"How can I not get mad? I can't even last five fucking seconds!" she grumbled.

Brian wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "That's because you're still learnin'. It's the first time you've ever gotten on a board, Mia. Of course you'll fall. What matters is that you always get up again and never stop tryin'."

Mia looked at Brian with a raised eyebrow. "Since when you're so wise?"

Brian grinned. "Since always, babe."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

Brian just laughed and kissed her passionately. Mia returned the kiss immediately, her arms wrapping around his neck. They didn't care if they were in the middle of the sea or that other people could watch them. In that moment, it was just them. They parted, and Brian grinned when he saw her flushed cheeks.

"I love you, baby," he told her honestly.

She smiled as she played with his blond curls. She wasn't sure when exactly they started saying that they loved each other, but she did know they both genuinely meant it, and that's what mattered to her. "I love you, too," she replied, pulling him in for another kiss.

"So, you wanna give surfing another try?" he asked against her lips, which got him a playful shove in the shoulder as a response.

* * *

"Hey, Vince," Letty greeted as she sat down beside her boyfriend's best friend with a beer in her hand. He was sitting on the porch, staring to the distance, with a beer in his hand. He looked deep in thought as well. He had been back for two months now, and ever since Dom told him about Mia's decision, he had been thinking way more than he used to back in LA. She couldn't blame him though.

Vince glanced at Letty for a moment before looking back to wherever he was staring to. "Hey."

"Are you alright?" Letty asked.

"Yeah…" Vince mumbled.

"Bullshit," Letty shot back. "I can see you thinkin', man. What's on your mind?"

"What do you think?" Vince snapped.

"Mia's choice," Letty guessed. "Listen, bro, I know it's hard, but she was the one who decided to stay with the buster, y'know?"

"Dom sheltered her too much," Vince muttered.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because if he hadn't, then Mia wouldn't have thought the buster actually _cared_ for her and she would've stayed with us," Vince replied moodily. Letty kept quiet as she thought about her best friend. She knew Mia was smart—she wouldn't just chose a random man over her family—but she was innocent, in a way, as well. "I hate him," he seethed, causing Letty to look back at him. "Not only did he lie to us and tried to throw our asses in jail, but he went and stole the girl I've wanted for a while now. This is bullshit."

Letty knew about Vince's feelings for Mia, but she also knew he had no chance of being with her. She kind of felt bad for him. "You've been friendzoned since day one, Vince. You can't expect to just get out of the friendzone."

Vince grunted, feeling frustrated and jealous as well. "Maybe I would've if that asshole hadn't showed his face around!"

"But, he did, and Mia chose him," Letty said softly. "You gotta accept that."

Vince stayed quiet for a moment. "Do you agree with her decision, Let?"

"Honestly?" Letty questioned rhetorically. "No, I don't, but I can understand why she did it."

Letty knew Mia well, and she knew that Mia had strong feelings for blondie. Mia had told her she had never felt the feelings she had for Brian with anyone else. It seemed like she was in love. Love made people do crazy things. Letty couldn't deny that, because she would do pretty much everything for Dom. But, at least Dom hadn't lied to her about being a cop. Still, Letty knew Mia was a smart girl and she felt she should trust her. Maybe Dom was right and Brian wasn't too bad—maybe he really made Mia happy.

"Well, maybe you can, but not me," Vince grumbled. "I still don't get why she'd chose that punk."

"You're jealous," Letty observed. She patted him in his shoulder. "Want some advice? Move on, Vince. Even if Mia had stayed with us, you'd still be in the friendzone, so do it. I know you've been with skanks, even though you like Mia, so it can't be that hard."

She stood up, walking away and leaving Vince thinking about her words.

* * *

Tonight had been a pretty good night. There had been races, and Brian won—as expected—and as a prize he got quite a good amount of money. Then, there was this huge party Brian, Mia, Tej, Suki, Jimmy, and Jesse had agreed to go together and they had a lot of fun in that. Jesse got himself a girl for the night, Jimmy spent the whole party playing poker and winning money, Tej and Suki suddenly disappeared, and Brian and Mia went to the boathouse not too long after they left to have sex themselves.

After they finished, they just lay in each other's arms. They were drunk, but not really as much as they had been other times. They probably wouldn't even have a hangover next morning, which they weren't complaining about. They had talked about what they planned for the future—or rather, what they didn't have planned—and agreed to stay in Miami as long as possible. It was a good place, they were stable, and Tej, Suki, and Jimmy were great. After that, they just laid in silence for a while until Mia broke it.

"When was your first time?" she asked out of the blue.

Brian—who had been about to fall asleep—blinked awake and looked down at Mia who had her head resting in his chest. "What?"

"You heard me."

"And where did that question come from?" Brian asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mia just shrugged. "Just curious."

"Well, alright," Brian chuckled. "I was sixteen, and I did it with my third girlfriend in a truck—"

"In a truck?!" Mia asked incredulously, amusement dancing in her eyes.

Brian grinned, a bit sheepishly. "Yeah."

Mia began laughing. "Oh, my God, I can't believe you!" she gasped between laughs.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Brian rolled his eyes, but there was a smile in his face. "I bet yours was even more ridiculous. With Dom around, I'm surprised you even managed to actually have sex with someone without Dom killing them for it."

"Yeah, well, I knew that, so I had a plan," Mia said with a mischievous grin. "I asked Letty to help me. We were both seventeen at the time, and she and my brother were dating already. So, Letty managed to distract Dom long enough for me to actually—well, do _it_ with my boyfriend— _don't_ ask me how she did it."

"And it actually worked?" Brian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He had to bolt as soon as we finished, but yeah, it did."

"Dom doesn't know about that, does he?" he asked in amusement.

Mia snorted. "Are you crazy? If he had known, he would've killed the poor guy. And if he knew now, he would give me and Letty the lecture of a lifetime. So, nope, he never found out."

Brian snickered. "Nice."

"My dad was alive by that time, too," Mia said. "But, he was away in some business trip or something, so he wasn't home."

"And you took your chance and did it?" Brian raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You sneaky girl."

"You love it," Mia grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You know I do," Brian replied, kissing her.

"Hey, Brian?" Mia started as they broke apart.

"Hmm?"

"What would happen if you and I… well—if we break up?" Mia asked, a little fearfully.

That question had been in her mind a while now and she wanted to know his answer. She chose Brian over Dom eight months ago, and she still didn't regret it, but she hadn't really thought about what would happen if they broke up. Until now their relationship had been great, they still had some rocky spots and arguments along the way, and while they had managed to get past it, maybe something in the future would push them over the edge. She feared the day something like that happened and hoped it would never come, but she didn't fool herself into believing that she and Brian will never break up, because it might happen. She didn't know what she would do if she and Brian ever broke up—she didn't know where everyone in her family other than Jesse was and she wouldn't really have anywhere to go if that happened.

"We're not gonna break up," Brian replied confidently.

"How do you know that?" Mia questioned.

"I don't, really," he admitted. "But, I do know I love you, more than I've ever loved anyone else. And yeah, I know that sounds like the cliché bullshit an asshole would say to each of his girlfriends, but I swear it's true. I've dated a lot of girls, and I've never felt for any of them what I feel for you now. And even if I screw up in the future, I promised I'd look after you and Jesse, and I'm gonna do that no matter what."

Instead of getting a vocal answer, he got Mia wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately. He didn't complain at all, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closer to him and kissing back. Soon enough he rolled her over to be on top of her, kissing her neck and making love to her again.

* * *

"Something's wrong with Jesse," Mia commented to Suki as they sat in a table in the garage.

Suki looked up from her sketch book and looked over to where Jesse and Jimmy were working. "You think?"

"Yeah," Mia sighed. "It's been almost ten months since we left LA now. Maybe he misses home—misses the team. I miss them, too."

"I can't blame either of you," Suki said. "Maybe some bro-time or something would make him some good?"

"Bro-time?" Mia hadn't really thought about that. "Yeah… yeah, maybe that'll work. I'll ask Brian to hang out with Jesse. Maybe that'll cheer him up."

"Sure it will," Suki chipped. "What's more fun that being with friends?"

"Oh, I don't know. That kind of depends on people," Tej said as he walked over them with Brian and wrapped his arms around Suki. "What exactly are we talkin' about, though?"

"Jesse," Mia replied. "He's been kind of down lately."

Brian raised his eyebrows and looked over at Jesse and Jimmy's direction. He honestly hadn't noticed. "Has he?"

"Yeah," Mia nodded. "I think he misses the team. We were thinking that some bro-time or something will do him good. Can you hang out with him sometime, Brian?"

"Sure I can," Brian replied. "Jesse's my friend. It's no problem."

"Thank you," Mia smiled.

"No reason to thank me," Brian said before he pecked her lips. "But, you're welcome."

"Asshole," Mia laughed, kissing him again.

* * *

When Brian asked Jesse if he wanted to hang out he was surprised, but excited as well. They had decided to go to a bar they usually went along with Tej, Jimmy, and sometimes the girls. Jesse was walking to Brian's Skyline, about to go to the passenger's side until Brian offered him the keys. "Wanna drive?"

Jesse was honestly surprised Brian would offer him to drive his Skyline. He never really let anyone drive it. "But, it's your car…"

Brian shrugged, handing Jesse his keys. "You helped me fix her up, so you can drive her, too."

"Awesome!" Jesse cheered, taking the keys from Brian and rushing to the driver's seat much to the eldest blond's amusement.

They didn't take long to get to the bar, considering they were pretty much racing their way to it. As soon as they got there, they went and ordered some drinks, sitting in the stool near the counter. The barmaid was a pretty girl, and Jesse was immediately interested in her. He began flirting with her, and the girl smiled and flirted back. Jesse had a huge grin on his face as he watched the girl serve drinks to other costumers, and he was only pulled back into reality when Brian slapped him on the back.

"Damn, Jesse—if I'd known you'd hook up with a girl, I would've brought a violin or somethin'," he joked.

Jesse shrugged. "She's hot," he said with a grin. "And I don't have a girlfriend like you, so it's no problem!" he exclaimed, stealing a glance to the girl once again.

Brian rolled his eyes. "Right, right."

"And here are your drinks!" the girl announced, handing them their drinks and winking at Jesse before going back to serve other costumers.

"I really should've brought a violin," Brian commented, shaking his head in amusement as he noticed Jesse was still staring at the barmaid. "Hey, look—there's a football match!" he grinned, standing up from the stool he was sitting on and dragging Jesse over to a table near the TV.

Some minutes later some other—clearly drunk—guys joined them. They were rooting for the other team, so they all ended up in a friendly banter about what team would win. When the minutes passed and the team Brian and Jesse were rooting for was winning, an all-out screaming match began in which the random guys yelled for their team to improve their gameplay and win much to Brian and Jesse's amusement.

Soon after the game ended, they left the bar but not without Jesse getting the barmaid's number first. He had a triumphant look in his face as he stared at the paper in which the girl had written her phone number and if Brian didn't know better, he'd say Jesse had practically fallen in love with that piece of paper. They went to the dock of Tej's Garage and sat there, looking at the sea and chatting. Brian noticed that Jesse was, in fact, a little down so he decided to just be direct.

"Jesse, you okay?" he questioned.

"Yeah, man, I'm fine," Jesse replied, but his tone said otherwise.

"You sure?" Brian asked, trying not to pressure Jesse but still wanting answers. "You can talk to me if you want, bro."

"Well, I…" Jesse wondered if he should be honest and just tell Brian what had been bothering him ever since they left LA, and decided that he wouldn't really lose anything if he did. "I just feel like a burden, y'know? I mean, you and Mia are together and happy and all—and it feels like I'm like being a third wheel—like I'm bothering you guys."

Brian couldn't believe Jesse had thought that about himself, and he wondered how long he felt like that. "Jesse, you're in _no way_ a third wheel or a burden. You don't bother us. Mia adores you, and hell, even I think of you as a little brother!"

"Yeah," Jesse mumbled. "I'm _always_ the kid brother…"

"That's because you're younger," Brian clarified, putting a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "It doesn't mean you're anything less, because you're not. Hell, you're actually way better than me—"

"Yeah, right," Jesse snorted. "I'm not. You're the smart one, the good driver, the one that's handsome, the one the girls want. I'm none of those things."

"Are you crazy?!" Brian asked, incredulous. He hadn't expected that Jesse was so insecure and he wanted to punch himself for not noticing it sooner. "You're _way_ smarter than me—when you showed me how the Supra would look back in LA, I was floored. You're a good driver, too—yeah, maybe you lost against Tran, but everyone loses sometimes, right? And if girls are only interested in me, then how come you've got this paper with a hot barmaid's number written on it?"

Jesse laughed slightly. "Yeah, maybe you're right..."

"I _am_ right," Brian said, ruffling Jesse's hair. "Don't sell yourself short, Jesse. You're much better than what you're thinking. And don't you ever think you bother me and Mia, because you don't. It's the opposite, actually."

"Alright," Jesse nodded, feeling better. He didn't think that having someone listen his troubles would actually make him feel better, but it did. "Thanks, Brian."

"No problem," Brian grinned, slapping Jesse on the back.

"Hey, Bri?"

"Yeah?"

"You think we'll ever see the others again?" Jesse asked, looking at the horizon.

Brian sighed. "I dunno—I mean, eventually, yeah, probably, but it depends on a lot of thing. What I do know is that we'll do everything we can to see them again, and I'm sure they'll do the same."

"I'm sure about that," Jesse laughed slightly. "I just miss them."

"I know," Brian replied. "They must miss you, too."

"Yeah…"

Trying to lighten up the mood, Brian grinned and nudged Jesse's side. "So, you gonna call your girl?"

Jesse laughed. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe."

"Yeah, right. We all know you'll do it, man. Might as well admit it!" he joked.

"Well, she was hot," Jesse grinned. "Wouldn't mind having sex with her."

"And she certainly wouldn't mind having sex with you either considering she gave you her number," Brian commented.

"Yeah, I guess," the younger blond laughed. "But, even if I don't call her, there's a lot of hot girls around that I could be with. Like, maybe, those girls that are coming over right now!"

Brian turned around to see that there were actually a group of girls strolling to them. They were really attractive, he had to admit it, even though they didn't compare to Mia in his mind. So he wasn't really amused when some of the girls began to flirt with _him_ , even though he could see the others with Jesse and he was glad about that. So, instead of ruining it for Jesse, he just stood there, trying to tell the girls as smoothly as possible that he wasn't interested, but they really didn't seem to understand as they kept insisting.

"Hey, girls! Get away from my man before I make you!"

Brian turned around to see his girlfriend standing there, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. The other girls _finally_ seemed to take the hint and leave, which was relieving, but now he had to explain to Mia why those girls were around him and he wasn't too excited about that.

"Uh, hey, Mia!" he greeted with a smile, which dropped as soon as he noticed her scowl hadn't disappeared. "About this—uh, well, you see we were just talkin' and these girls showed up and began to flirt with me, and I didn't really want to leave and screw things for Jesse over there," he signalized with his thumb over to where Jesse stood with the girls he was talking to, "so I just tried to tell the girls I wasn't interested but they wouldn't listen and I—"

He was cut off when Mia kissed him on the lips. "I know," she said, a smile taking over her face as amusement danced in her eyes. "I saw you trying to get them off you. I just wanted to see how you'd react to me being angry—and believe me, it was worthy."

"You're evil," Brian shook his head, wrapping his arms around her waist. "But, I love it," he added with a grin before joining her lips with his.

"Jesse seems better now," Mia commented as she watched Jesse talk to the girls.

"Yeah, he is," Brian smiled, keeping his arm around her waist.

"Hey, Mia!" Jesse greeted as he finally noticed her there. He said goodbye to the girls he was flirting with and strolled over to Brian and Mia. "When did you show up?"

"Just now, but you would've realized if you hadn't been so surrounded by girls," Mia joked.

"Well, that doesn't matter considering he got the number of this barmaid and he's been holding onto that paper like it was sacred," Brian smirked.

"What?" Mia gasped. "Jesse—oh, you heartthrob, you!" She laughed, strolling to Jesse and nudging him playfully. "I girl, huh? You _excited_?"

"Kinda, yeah," he laughed. "But, seriously, should I call her?"

"Are you seriously asking?" Brian inquired in surprise. "What are you waiting for? If you want some tonight, you better get the phone right now!"

"Alright!" Jesse called the girl, and after smooth flirting through the phone, he was proud to tell that he had a date tonight. So, he went to Tej's Garage to fix himself up for the date, much to Brian and Mia's amusement. "Hey, Bri, can you lend me your Skyline for a while?" he asked as he walked to Brian and Mia—who were sitting in one of the tables at the garage talking—after he finished getting ready. Tej and Suki were at her place and Jimmy was hanging out with a cousin of his, so they were the only ones in the garage.

"You just want to amaze her!" Mia joked, to which Jesse just grinned in reply.

"Sure," Brian shrugged, a smile on his face. "Don't bang her in it, though, okay? Sex in the car is my thing," he joked and yelped slightly when Mia punched his chest which caused Jesse to laugh.


	6. Unexpected

Mia smiled as she watched her boyfriend's car speed up as soon as the race began. She was confident Brian would win the race, like he always did, and she was excited about it. The races definitely brought a lot of cash for them to survive, which was a good thing, obviously. She had come to street races ever since her brother came back from Lompoc and began racing, and even though she wasn't in LA, being in a race kind of felt like home. The excitement the people felt when Brian showed up was similar to when Dom would show up in LA, and even though a part of her was sad about not being with her brother, the familiarity comforted her.

She was standing next to the finishing line, waiting for Brian, Suki, and those other two—Slap Jack and Orange Julius—to arrive. Tej had claimed that he had a surprise for everyone, and that surprise happened to be a bridge jump. Mia was worried about Brian as well as Suki, and she had threatened Tej that if something happened to Brian, he'd be the one to pay the consequences. Tej just laughed it off and claimed nothing would happen, but she was still worried.

"Hello," a woman's voice greeted and Mia turned around to see a pretty Latina standing right next to her.

"Hi," Mia replied, not knowing who the woman was or what she wanted.

"Are you Bullet's girlfriend?" the woman questioned.

Mia instantly got a bit defensive. She didn't like the way the woman asked her that. "Yeah, I am," she said with her chin held high.

The woman nodded and looked over to the street where the racers were supposed to arrive. "You're a lucky girl," she commented. "He's gorgeous."

Mia felt a bit of jealousy in her, but she hid it with a smile. "He is," she replied. Never had a girl been so direct about her thoughts of Brian around her and she didn't know how to act, but she did know she didn't like it. "We've been dating for over a year now."

Before the woman could reply, someone shouted that the racers were coming. Sure enough, Brian's car flew from the bridge and over Slap Jack's car, just to land perfectly fine. Mia let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and winced as Slap Jack lost control of his car and crashed. Luckily, the crash wasn't too bad and he was okay. When Brian pulled over, the crowd began to cheer loudly. Mia grinned and ran towards him, and almost a second later after he climbed out of the car she wrapped her arms around him happily.

"You won!" she exclaimed, kissing him.

"'Course I did," he laughed, holding her tightly against him.

"Dude, Bri—that was totally wicked!" Jesse exclaimed, running towards his two friends.

"Thanks," Brian laughed. "But, I guess you might give Tej credit for that one."

That's when Suki jumped off the bridge, damaging her car's bumper as she landed but other than that, she was fine. When she pulled over, people began to cheer for her as well as she grinned and threw her hands up in victory. She looked over Brian and Mia and smiled. Tej showed up, telling people about the amazing stunt they just witnessed, while giving Brian his money only for Brian to give him a part of it. He had always done that, ever since that first race in Miami, and Tej called it as 'mutual respect'.

Now that Tej had walked off, asking people if they were up for another race, the woman that had talked to Mia earlier walked to them again. "Hello," she said, causing Brian and Jesse to look up in confusion and Mia to roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Uh, hey," Jesse greeted.

The woman glanced at him, then looked at Brian and a smirk took over her face. "It's time to get out here."

"And why's that?" Brian asked, only to get his answer a few second later when people began to shout that the cops were coming.

Brian, Jesse, and Mia glanced to each other before sprinting to Brian's Skyline and getting in as quickly as they could so they could escape. As they left, the woman kept watching them with a smile on her face, and when they disappeared, she turned around and left the scene, knowing that wouldn't be the last time she saw those guys—particularly O'Conner—again.

* * *

They were caught.

Over a year after they left LA, and they were caught. They had figured that, after one whole year, it would've been easier for them to keep hiding. They had been in Miami for over ten months and never once had a cop gotten to them. In fact, they would've gotten away if an ESD Harpoon wasn't launched at the Skyline, disabling the car. But, now, they were caught, sitting in an interrogation room with their hands cuffed behind their backs, and they could do nothing but wait and see what would happen.

"What are we gonna do now?" Jesse asked. He was nervous—panicking, actually! He wanted to smoke to calm his nerves, but his hands were cuffed and he couldn't do so.

Brian sighed. "I don't know," he replied calmly. He kept his cool even in the direst of situations. "We'll have to wait and see, I guess." Brian noticed Jesse's nerves, and sighed again. "Try to keep calm, Jesse, okay? I know this sucks, but panicking won't help us."

Jesse let out a shaky breath and nodded. "I wish I could be as calm as you right now…"

There was silence for a few moments until Mia broke it. "That woman knew."

Brian and Jesse glanced at her. "What?" Brian questioned.

"The woman that talked to us after the race—she told us that it was time to get out of there. She must've known the cops were coming," Mia said angrily.

Brian thought about what Mia was saying, and realized that what she said was indeed true. "That makes sense."

"It does!" Mia replied. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. "She came to talk to me while you raced. She asked me if I was your girlfriend, and later she showed up again and told us it's time to leave, and not even a second later the cops show up. She knew!"

They couldn't continue their conversation because two agents walked into the interrogation room. The older one—Agent Markham—was holding a folder, and he didn't look friendly. "So, how long you been in South Florida?" he asked, going straight to business.

"A while," Brian replied vaguely.

"Before that?" When he received no answer, he tried another tactic. "We know you're Brian O'Conner, formerly of the LAPD. And we know you're Jesse Lindberg, member of Dominic Toretto's crew, and that you're Mia Toretto, sister of Dominic Toretto."

Instead of confessing, Brian decided to do what he was best at and lied. "You got the wrong guys."

Markham raised an eyebrow, not amused at all. "Really?"

Brian nodded, but his face fell when there was a knock at the door and he saw FBI Agent Bilkins walk inside the room. Neither Mia nor Jesse knew the man, but they guessed Brian did because of the expression on his face.

"How you doin', O'Conner?" Bilkins asked. Brian refused to look at Bilkins, but Mia and Jesse were watching the agent curiously, wondering when Brian met the man in the first place. "Let's take a walk." Markham smirked and tossed the handcuffs' key to Bilkins.

After being freed from their handcuffs, the three agents ordered the trio to follow them. They had no idea where they were being taken, but Brian, Jesse, and Mia followed them, anyways. They didn't really have a choice in the matter. As they walked, Mia decided to ask Brian about Bilkins.

"Do you know that guy?" she whispered to her boyfriend.

Brian nodded. "Yeah, worked for him back in LA. He was the one in charge of over-seeing the Toretto case."

Mia blinked in surprise. "Oh…"

"Why is he here? And shouldn't he, like, hate you? I mean you betrayed him, didn't ya?" Jesse wondered.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Brian shrugged. "Guess we'll find out."

* * *

Carter Verone.

An Argentinian man that lived most of his life in Miami, and now was a drug dealer. He managed to get the drugs, but had a hard time getting the cash out. US Customs couldn't connect Verone with the money, even though they had tried for over a year now.

There was one agent in undercover, and while Markham was sure they could trust her, Bilkins was obviously not sure about it. Mia immediately thought about the woman that talked to them at the races, but she didn't say anything. The point was that Verone had her looking for street racers, and that's when Brian comes in.

Apparently Bilkins thought brining Brian in the case would be a good idea, even though Brian flipped in LA, because he knew that despite how he screwed up the Toretto case, O'Conner was a good undercover agent and he was the best man to go undercover as a street racer. Besides, he wouldn't flip for someone like Carter Verone. Markham was obviously all against the idea, and he didn't hesitate to say so. He said the mission was for two people, and that Brian would have to work with Agent Dunn. Clearly, neither one of the trio was impressed by the young agent.

"And if I don't?" Brian questioned after Markham had explained the mission to them.

Bilkins had expected O'Conner would need a little more motivation to accept, so he handed him a file. "Well, here's a list of the laws you three broke in LA. Obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting—you know the rap sheet. Now, we can make this all go away in the interest of justice, _if_ you're willing to play ball. The mission is only for two, but I promise that if you work for us, O'Conner, Lindberg's and Toretto's records will be wiped clean as well."

"Yeah," Brian muttered, looking through the list. He didn't want to go undercover, but he definitely didn't want himself, Mia, and Jesse in jail. He would rather play by the FBI's rule and get clean records for all of them. "So, what's the idea here? Dunn and I are supposed to be street racers?"

"That's right," Markham confirmed.

Brian, Jesse and Mia glanced at each other, then at Dunn, then at each other again. They were all thinking the same thing; no way could that guy pass like a street racer. "So, Dunn…" Brian stood up to greet the agent. "Looks like we're gonna be partners, bro," he shook his hand with a smile. Mia and Jesse were trying to hide their amused grins as they watched Dunn look a bit uncomfortable. "Could you tell me real quick what's a better motor for my Skyline—the Gallo 12 or the Gallo 24?"

Jesse couldn't stop the snort coming from him and Mia almost giggled in the agent's face. Dunn glanced at them before looking at Markham, hesitating. Markham nodded, quietly telling him to answer. "Um," Dunn cleared his throat. "Twenty-four."

"I didn't know pizza places made motors," Brian smirked, nodding his head to the cup in his hand. Jesse began to laugh and Mia couldn't stop herself from grinning in amusement. "See, man? Come on! I can't do this," Brian said, a grin in his face. "I mean, seriously, if this is what you're gonna give me, I may as well take my chances in Chino." He went back to sit beside Mia and Jesse as Markham glared at Dunn and roughly grabbed the Gallo's Pizza cup from his hand.

"Well, then, you're three," Markham said in annoyance, glaring at the trio. "One of you two can fill Dunn's place, can't you?" he asked Mia and Jesse.

"I've got that ADD shit," Jesse said. "I don't think I'm the best guy for the job, y'know? I'd get way too nervous."

"Then you," Markham nodded his head in Mia's direction. "You can do it, can't you?"

Brian's eyes flared. He refused to get Mia in danger, and he knew that mission would probably be dangerous one way or another. "No way Mia's gonna—"

"Shut up," Markham seethed. "It's her decision. I'm sure she can do this."

"I can't," Mia said softly. "I would, but I can't."

"Why, exactly?" Markham asked in annoyance. "You're Toretto's sister. I bet you're a good driver. Why wouldn't you be able to work with your boyfriend here and get Verone?"

"Because I'm pregnant!" she explained, shocking everyone. "I'm pregnant," she repeated softly, now looking at Brian, who was stunned into silence. She hadn't expected to tell him in such a situation, but it felt like a weight was lifted off her chest when she admitted it. Honestly, she was a bit worried of how he'd react when she told him the news, which is why she didn't tell him right away. "We're gonna have a baby."

Brian was shocked. He had not expected that, _at all_ , even though there were signs that should've been enough to guess Mia could be pregnant. After all, as he thought back, he realized Mia already had morning sickness, even though she had said it was the flu when he had asked her. And, recently, she hadn't been drinking alcohol, but she had claimed that it was to prevent any more sickness.

He hadn't questioned her, even though he was worried, because he believed her. The possibility of Mia being pregnant hadn't even made its way into his mind. He never thought about having a baby, at least not now. He honestly hadn't thought much about being a father in his life, and the fact he was now actually going to be a father changed a lot of things. But, that didn't matter at all because a sudden happiness grew within him—happiness that he wasn't even sure where exactly came from, but that showed up the moment he realized he was actually going to have a child.

"You're kidding me," he finally said, taking a step closer to Mia, wrapping his arms around her waist as his face lit up in joy.

Mia shook her head and laughed. "No." Brian grinned back and kissed her, and then whatever insecurity she had about his reaction disappeared as she kissed back in happiness.

"You guys are gonna have a baby!" Jesse exclaimed in excitement. "Wow, that is so awesome! Congrats!"

"Thanks, Jesse!" Mia laughed as Jesse came over them and hugged them both.

Bilkins had a smile on his face as he watched the trio, but Markham wasn't amused. "All right," he said. "Nice news, but we've got a job to focus on. We need to find another driver since you won't work with Dunn."

Bilkins glared slightly at him. He was a father, too, and it annoyed him that Markham would just interrupt such a moment for Brian and Mia, even if he didn't like them. "We'll get another driver."

"No," Brian shook his head. "If you want me to do this, I'll choose the driver."

"Alright, O'Conner," Bilkins nodded. "Who do you suggest?"

"This dude I grew up with in Barstow," Brian replied. "Roman Pearce."

"For real? Your friend?" Mia asked, a smile in her face. Her smile dropped when she remembered her boyfriend and Roman weren't friends anymore. "You think he'll help?"

"Yeah," Brian nodded. "He's a crazy driver, and he'll do this for a clean record. I'm sure we can trust him."

"Alright then," Bilkins nodded.

"Oh, and Bilkins?" Brian called. "I was wondering if we could get the records of Dominic Toretto, Leticia Ortiz, Vincent Alvarez, and Leon Strong wiped clean as well."

"What?!" Markham screeched. "Hey, buddy, if you think you can just come in and ask for—"

"Markham!" Bilkins snapped. He glanced at Brian and sighed. "I don't know if I can pull it off, O'Conner. You're asking way too much."

"Oh, come on! I know, and _you_ know, you can do it," Brian said. "I'm helpin' you guys get this dude you've been trying to get for _over a year_ , and I'm going undercover to bust him. What if something goes wrong? I've got a kid on the way. If something happens, then I'd like Mia and my child to have their family around. Besides, there's still not enough evidence to blame them for the truck hijackings, so wiping that clean isn't so bad."

Markham snorted, but he halted when seeing Bilkins was considering it. "Come on, Bilkins, you cannot be possibly considering it!"

Bilkins couldn't believe he was considering to wipe the records of the Toretto crew as well, but he knew what Brian said was true. They really didn't have enough evidence to pin the blame on them, so there wouldn't be such a difference if they wiped their records as well. "Fine."

"Really?" Mia whispered, feeling a sense of happiness within her. If the team's records got wiped clean, then they would finally be able to be reunited with them.

"You can do it?" Jesse asked excitedly.

"You've gotta be kidding!" Markham exclaimed. "You can't seriously—"

"I'll wipe all their records clean if you get us Verone," Bilkins said to Brian. "I'm doing a lot for you right now, so I hope you don't waste this opportunity.

Brian nodded. "I won't. Thank you."

"Alright." Bilkins turned to Markham and Dunn. "Let Toretto and Lindberg go. I'll go with O'Conner to Barstow to get Pearce."

Markham grumbled. "I don't agree with this—ugh, fine!"

"Be careful," Mia begged of Brian. "I don't want my child's father to be hurt because of this."

"I will," Brian nodded, kissing her. "Worry about yourself, now, babe. We got a child to think of now." He smiled and Mia smiled back. "You two gotta go to Tej's Garage and stay there. I'll go whenever I can, okay?"

"Got it," Jesse nodded.

Brian kissed Mia once more and then walked towards Bilkins. "Now let's go get Rome."

* * *

Roman Pearce followed his former best friend as the blond told him about Tej's Garage. He had been living his life with a fucking ankle monitor in Barstow, and then the man Roman never wanted to see again showed his face around to offer him a job. The only reason he even accepted to work with Brian was because he'd get his record wiped clean. If not, there was no way Roman would work with the man that in his mind was the reason he went to prison. Even though that little test of Verone's made Roman have fun and be reminded of his past with Brian, he refused to just forgive him so easily.

He watched as Brian told Jimmy to do him a favor and check the Evo and the Spyder to see if everything was alright. Jimmy nodded and mentioned that two people told them what had happened with the cops, and that he'd take care of the cars. So, apparently, Brian wasn't alone, but he hadn't said with whom, exactly. His attention was caught by the Jet Ski races that Tej was hosting. It amazed him the amount of people around the place. And the women!

"Damn!" he said, and Brian just chuckled in amusement.

"Brian?" a woman's voice called out, and Roman turned his head to see a really hot girl looking at them. She was with a guy that couldn't be over twenty-year-old. He could see a smile brighten her face as she saw the blond and run towards him to give him a hug. "You're okay!"

"Yeah," Brian chuckled, and Roman's jaw almost hit the floor when Mia went and kissed him.

"Glad to see you alive in one piece, Bri," Jesse grinned as he walked toward them.

"Thanks, Jesse," Brian laughed with an arm around Mia. He turned to Roman who looked confused. "Rome, that's Jesse. And this is my girlfriend, Mia."

Roman raised his eyebrows. "Girlfriend?" When he had questioned Brian about Monica, he had just said that he wasn't interested in Monica because his interest was in someone else. He hadn't really believed him, but now that he met Brian's girlfriend personally, he could understand why. Mia was prettier than Monica.

"Yeah," Mia giggled.

"Well, damn," Roman shook his head. "What can I say? Always in trouble over a woman, aye."

Brian punched Roman lightly in the arm. "Hey!"

Mia just shook her head in amusement and giggled. "So, how did it go?" she asked, referring to the undercover assignment.

"It's fine up to now. We're in," Brian told her and Jesse as they walked to where Tej and Suki were sitting, dragging Roman since he had gotten distracted with some women walking by. "Oh, and you were right, by the way. That woman that talked to us at the race was an undercover agent. Her name is Monica Fuentes."

"See?! I told you!" she replied.

"You did," he chuckled, kissing her head softly. "Now we gotta make sure we don't get our covers blown. If we're lucky we'll be able to get those clean records soon."

"That's good," she smiled, watching as Brian introduced Roman to Tej and Suki, unconsciously resting her hand on her belly.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Mia asked Brian while they were in bed. He and Roman had arrived from some party or something Verone invited them to, and Brian went to sleep as soon as they got there. She had been entertained by the poker game Tej, Jimmy, Suki and Jesse were playing, but she decided to go with Brian. She noticed there was something off about him, but she wasn't sure what.

"I'm fine," he mumbled.

"No, you're not," Mia said gently. "You can tell me what's wrong. Is it Verone?"

"Rome and I watched him torture a cop and laugh about it," Brian admitted. "He's a psychopath, and no-one knows what he'd do if something goes wrong and our covers are blown. We're in real danger, and I don't want to leave you alone with a baby."

Mia smiled softly at his concern over her and their child, and rubbed his back comfortingly. "That's not gonna happen," she said. "You have thought about this escape plan if anything goes wrong, and if you ever need help, I'm sure you'll have a lot of people that'll help if you ask them. You're not alone in this."

Brian cupped Mia's face with his hand. "I'd never forgive myself if something ever happened to you, or to the baby." He put his other hand on her still flat belly and smiled slightly. "I still can't believe there's someone in there."

"Someone we created." Mia put her hand on top of his. "I know. It was so unexpected, but if I ever knew something ever since the beginning is that I was gonna keep my child. I can't believe there's people that would rather get rid of them."

Brian nodded in agreement. "Some people are messed up," he said. He was reminded of his father, because he was one of those people who decided to just walk away from his child, and it angered him. "If everything goes well, this child will have both its parents there. I'll always be there for you and our kid, Mia. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," Mia smiled, kissing him on the lips. "You need to sleep now. You're tired."

"Yes, Mom," Brian joked.

"Hey, I'm gonna be a mom in about eight or nine months. I need to be prepared," she grinned. "We need to go the doctor though."

"We'll go after all this is over," Brian assured her, kissing her. "And we'll tell everyone the news later, too, since you obviously didn't tell them."

"Of course I didn't. You had to be there," Mia grinned and Brian laughed. "You do need to sleep though."

"Yeah," he nodded and kissed her once more. "G'night, baby."

"Goodnight…"

* * *

Brian opened his eyes when he heard like someone was in the room. He glanced at Mia, who was cuddled up against him, and he put an arm around her protectively as he shot up to see who got into their place. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he definitely didn't expect Monica of all people. "What are you doing here?" he asked as she sat on his and Mia's bed.

"What's going on?" Mia asked sleepily. She sat up beside Brian and looked at the woman she recognized as the one from the races—the agent that was undercover. "Oh, it's you again."

Monica glanced from Brian to Mia, and then back to Brian. She ignored the slight feeling of jealousy she felt when she saw Mia and Brian together—she had meant it when she commented Brian was gorgeous and told Mia she was a lucky girl—and instead focused on why she really came for. "Brian, they're gonna kill you," she said. She was breathing heavily, like she ran all the way to the boathouse. "I heard him telling Enrique and Roberto. Once you finish the run, they're putting a bullet in your head."

"What?" Mia questioned, worry coming to her.

"You sure you heard 'em right?" Brian asked, putting his arm around Mia and rubbing her arm to comfort her.

"I'm sure, I'm sure," Monica nodded.

Just then, Roman came into the boathouse, followed by Jesse. "Verone's boys is out—" He halted when seeing Monica. "Oh, I see what they lookin' for. His little girlfriend here."

"How do they know you're here?" Jesse whispered.

"They _don't_ know I'm here. I snuck out!" Monica hissed, looking at the silhouette on the window. Brian and Mia got out of bed. Brian got a blue shirt for himself and he tossed some pants to Mia, who was wearing one of his shirts to sleep.

"What are they doin' here then?" Roman questioned.

"I don't know—maybe they're guessing!" Monica snapped.

"Hey, go stall them. Go stall them for like two minutes," Brian whispered to Roman.

"Check her, homie. Check her!" Roman whispered, going out of the boathouse to distract Enrique and Roberto.

Monica turned to Brian. "Brian, this isn't about being a good cop anymore, or—or—or doing the job. They're gonna kill you, okay? You guys gotta pull out. Okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, remembering his conversation with Mia last night. He meant what he said. He wasn't going to leave her or their child.

"You gotta go now!" Jesse whispered to Monica.

"Hide in the bathroom," Mia told her. "There's a window you can use to escape."

"Be careful," Brian said.

Monica nodded. "Okay." She glanced at Brian once more before rushing to the bathroom.

Mia would've rolled her eyes at how obvious Monica's attraction to Brian was, but after the woman came to warn them about Verone's plans, she decided to be more civil with her and just let her be. Besides, she was more worried about their current situation.

"Mia—Jesse—try to stay away from those guys," Brian told them. "Okay?" They both nodded. Brian leaned down and kissed his girlfriend before pulling back. "Let's go."

The three of them stepped out of the boat, where Roman stood trying to distract Enrique and Roberto. " _¿Dónde está?_ " Roberto questioned as soon as he saw the three of them walk out of the houseboat.

Brian played dumb. " _¿Quién?_ "

That was when Roberto and Enrique decided to just look for Monica inside the houseboat themselves. Roman tried to stop them, but he halted when Enrique pointed a gun at his face. Brian watched as Enrique entered the houseboat, and when he tried to stop him, Roberto prevented it by pulling him back and pointing a gun at his face. When Enrique didn't find anything, he walked out of the houseboat.

"Stay your ass off my homeboy's boat!" Roman snapped, and that resulted in a fight that ended up in a screaming match between Brian and Enrique. Brian had a gun aiming at Roberto's chest while Enrique had his gun aiming at Roman's head. Mia and Jesse stayed back, looking worried for Brian and Roman. It was an all-out screaming match between the six of them that would've continued if Verone hadn't showed up.

"Enough!" he commanded, and everyone hesitated before stopping. Enrique and Roberto walked to Verone as the latter explained to Brian and Roman that they would be riding with Enrique and Roberto during the run. He was smirking, obviously amused by what was going on. "By the way, who're those two?" he pointed at Mia and Jesse.

"Friends," Roman snapped.

"They better not open their mouths about what just happened," Verone said with a hint of threatening in his voice.

"They won't say a thing," Brian said, glaring at Verone, not liking at all how the Argentinian eyed Mia.

Verone smirked. "That's good. I'll see you guys in a bit." He walked away, Enrique and Roberto following him after sending a dirty look to Brian and Roman.

"So, that was Verone…" Jesse commented.

"What the hell was she doin' here, man?" Roman questioned Brian.

"She came to warn us Verone wants to kill you," Mia explained.

"What?" Roman asked.

"What you heard," Brian said. "We need to tell Bilkins about this."

* * *

"I can't believe you guys," Mia shook her head. Apparently, Markham didn't let Brian and Roman pull out of the case, so for that reason they came up with an escape plan to avoid death or jail. "That plan sounds crazy. And you know the funny part?"

"What?" Brian asked in amusement.

"I think it'll work," Mia grinned and kissed him. "Verone won't know what'll hit him, I'm sure."

Roman chuckled. "Damn, Brian—your woman's smart."

"Yeah, she is," he said proudly. He pushed Roman away playfully. "Now, eyes off her. She's _my_ girl."

"A'ight, a'ight!" Roman laughed.

"We have some cars to work on," Brian commented. "Hey, Jesse! Ready to do this?"

"You kiddin' me, Bri?" Jesse asked with an excited grin. He couldn't wait to work on the cars they needed for their plan. "I've been waitin' for this! Let's do this!"

* * *

"Guess what?" Brian asked as he and Roman walked to Tej's Garage. They were back from arresting Verone and stealing some of the money that was evidence, which, naturally, had them in a very good mood. Tej, Suki, Jimmy, Mia and Jesse immediately had their attention on him. "We got him. We got Verone!"

"That's great, man!" Jimmy cheered.

"I know, right?!" Roman laughed.

"Couldn't have done it without you guys," Brian said, wrapping an arm around Mia.

"That's what friends are for," Tej shrugged.

"Yeah," Suki nodded.

"So, now we've got clean records?" Mia asked Brian.

"Yeah, all of us, as well as Dom and the others," he said.

Jesse cheered. "That's great!"

Roman nodded. Brian told him what happened in LA after they had finally rekindled their friendship, so he knew who the team was and that Brian also got their records wiped clean due to this job. "Yeah, besides, we hungry no more."

Brian smirked, while everyone else looked confused. The duo from Barstow showed their friends some of the money they stole, their smirks still in their faces. "We took some money that was meant to be evidence," Brian explained.

"So much for having clean records," Suki joked and everyone laughed.

"Yeah, well. At least we can use this money for the baby," he said with a smile, wrapping his arm around Mia who smiled back.

Everyone looked confused and Jesse grinned at their faces. They looked from Brian to Mia, trying to figure out what they meant. For some reason, it didn't click until Suki noticed Mia's hand resting on her stomach. "Wait…" she began. "You… You're pregnant?!"

"I am," Mia laughed.

Her friends congratulated her and Brian about the pregnancy, and in that moment, she couldn't feel happier. She had new friends, she had a boyfriend that she loved, she was pregnant with his child, and pretty soon, she would manage to see her brother and her other friends again. Now that their records were wiped clean, they would all be able to come back to the US and they could be a family again.


	7. The Pregnancy

When an unknown number called his phone, Hector immediately thought that Dom finally decided to call again and answered without a second thought. "Hello?"

_"Hector?"_

Hector's eyes widened in shock. It wasn't Dom—he should've expected it—but he definitely didn't expect the voice he heard through the phone. He hadn't heard it in over a year now, and he honestly started to think he never would again. "Mia?"

_"That's right,"_ Mia laughed. _"You sound surprised. Caught you off guard, huh?"_

"You really did, baby girl," Hector agreed. "I really didn't expect you to call. I mean, you haven't called in over a year. I was seriously thinkin' I'd never know of you again."

_"Sorry, Hector. We just didn't want to get you in trouble and attract the cops to us, you know?"_

"Yeah, I got ya. By the way, how are you? Jesse still with you?"

_"Yeah, he is. He's fine. He's working on some cars now. You know how he is,"_ Mia laughed.

Hector smiled. "Yeah. What about the Snowman? Dom said you went on the run with him…"

_"We did. He's fine, too. We're still together, actually! We've been great—all three of us. We're in Miami now."_

"Woah—Miami, huh?" Hector laughed. "You ended up there of all places! How is it?"

_"It's cool—really fun. You can't get bored around here,"_ Mia laughed. _"We've been here for a while now."_

"So the cops haven't gotten you yet?" he grinned.

_"Actually… they did. They did, just recently."_

"What?" he gasped.

_"Yeah, but they didn't send us to jail. The Feds actually offered Brian a job in exchange of clean records. That's why I'm calling now, Hector. There's no need to hide anymore. Our records are clean. All of ours, even Dom's and the others'. Brian was able to convince Agent Bilkins to give us all clean records if he did this job."_

"You've got to be shitting me," Hector sputtered in shock. "That's awesome news right there!"

_"I know,"_ Mia giggled. _"I was hoping you could get in contact with my brother, so we can tell him that there's nothing to worry about anymore and that we can go home."_

"About that…" Hector hesitated. "I don't know how to contact Dom."

_"What?"_

"I don't have Dom's number," Hector explained. "He's the one who calls with payphones and shit, but about six months ago, the cops began to suspect that I was in contact with Dom and I got into some shit. Dom said he didn't want to cause me more troubles and he stopped callin'."

_"You're joking…"_ Mia whispered, upset. She had been so happy that her family would be together again but apparently, it wouldn't be so easy.

"I ain't. Sorry, Mia," Hector sighed. "I can assure you that last time I hear of 'em, they were fine. We managed to get Vince out of the hospital around eight months ago and now they're all together. They even got this new friend, Han. Last time I heard of them, they were in Panama."

_"That's good to know—that they're all okay, I mean,"_ she said quietly. _"That calms me down a little at least."_

"I'll tell you when Dom calls," Hector told Mia. "I don't think he'll never call again. As soon as he calls, I'll tell him about what you said and I'll tell you."

_"All right,"_ she agreed. _"Hopefully, Dom will call in less than nine months."_

"What?" Hector blinked. "Why?"

_"Because I'm pregnant,"_ Mia replied, and Hector could hear the happiness in her voice when she said it. _"Brian and I are gonna have a baby!"_

"Wow—that's…" Hector was shocked. He had not expected that at all! "Congratulations! When did you find out?"

_"Um, about a week ago,"_ Mia said.

"And how did the Snowman react?"

_"He was shocked at first, but then he was really happy,"_ Mia laughed. _"We're really excited about this, Hector. I just hoped my brother would be here to share our happiness now that our family's growing."_

"Happiness? I have a feelin' Dom would be furious! Don't ya think he'd try and kill the Snowman?"

_"No,"_ Mia laughed. _"I don't think he'd want to leave his nephew or niece fatherless, and even if he tries, I wouldn't let him."_

"Alright, I'll tell you if Dom ever calls," Hector promised. "But, you gotta call more, baby girl! You and Jesse had us all worried!"

_"Okay,"_ she giggled. _"Thanks, Hector."_

* * *

"Aha! There we are," the doctor grinned. "There's your baby."

Brian and Mia looked at the screen, trying to find what was supposed to be their baby. They had come to the first checkup, and neither of them really knew what to expect. The doctor had examined Mia and confirmed everything was fine, and then she told them it was time for the ultrasound. Both were excited to see their child—who the doctor said was conceived about a month and a half ago—but neither of them could see anything.

"…Where?" Brian finally asked, narrowing his eyes as he tried to find his child on the screen.

The doctor pointed to a small, peanut shaped object on the screen. "There it is."

"Wow…" Mia gasped in excitement as she grasped Brian's hand. "Do you see it, Brian? That's our baby!"

"It is," Brian grinned and kissed Mia's head. He knew he was going to be a father, but sitting there, watching the ultrasound, it felt like it was really happening. He felt a lot of emotions—he was ecstatic, but he also was scared. It was probably the first time he ever felt those two emotions at the very same time, but he didn't show it. Mia was overjoyed and he didn't want to ruin his girlfriend's happiness with his doubts. "That's our baby…"

* * *

"I still cannot believe you gonna be a dad," Roman laughed.

"Me neither," Brian admitted as he took a sip from his beer. "Pretty wild, huh?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Roman chuckled. "Now you're screwed. Say goodbye to the parties, bars, and fun on the side, brah!"

"Fun on the side?"

"Well, yeah," Roman shrugged. "I mean how long you've been with your girl exactly? Over a year? I wouldn't be able to last so long without havin' some fun on the side—y'know what I'm sayin'?" he grinned.

"I've never cheated on Mia."

"Seriously?" Roman blinked. "For real?"

"For real," Brian rolled his eyes. "I ain't like you, Roman. I'm not a playboy." He smirked. "At least _I_ manage to get a steady girlfriend."

Roman rolled her eyes. "At least I manage to get hot girls!"

"Mia's hot." He smirked when seeing Roman purse his lips. "Exactly."

"But, seriously, cuz, you never cheated on her?" Roman asked curiously.

"Never," Brian reaffirmed. "It's kinda weird. I mean, with my former girlfriends, I never really lost interest on other women, y'know? And I always ended up losing interest in the girls I was dating and I'd break up with them. But, ever since I began datin' Mia, other women just don't interest me anymore. I mean, sure, I can admit there are really hot women out there and all, but they no longer interest me in _that way_. It's like the only woman I'm interested in is Mia."

"Wow." Roman hadn't realized how serious Brian was with Mia, even if they had a child on the way. "Man, you're so whipped."

Brian shrugged. "Well, I love her."

"You're in deep, bro," Roman commented.

"Since the very beginning," Brian agreed.

* * *

"We need to get a new place," Mia said to Brian as they lay together in bed. She was over two months pregnant now, and she couldn't wait for the third trimester to end. Prenatal vitamins and eating little portions of food like the doctor suggested helped, but she was still tired of the stupid morning sickness. She didn't let it stop her though, and Brian always helped her when she needed him to. "This boathouse is not gonna be enough for the three of us."

Brian nodded. "Yeah. It's a good thing I took some money from Verone then. We can use it to get a new place," he grinned.

Mia laughed and pushed his shoulder. "You're such a bad boy!"

"And you love it," Brian smirked.

"I'm pretty sure we've already established that I do," Mia replied with a smirk of her own before leaning in and kissing him. "Seriously, though, we need to get somewhere else to live. I like it in Miami. It's not LA, but it's like a second home. Besides, LA wouldn't be the same without the others there. At least we've got friends here."

Brian nodded. "We'll look for places then."

* * *

"What the fuck?" Roman asked the question that everyone had in their minds as he and his friends watched dumbfounded as a tow truck dropped off a very familiar car.

"Bri, is that your—" Jesse began.

"Skyline?" Brian finished for him. "Yeah, it is." He honestly hadn't expected to see his car ever again, and while he loved the Evo, he still preferred the Skyline.

"So, that's the Skyline you told me about?" Roman asked and Brian nodded.

"I thought it was impounded after you guys were arrested," Tej commented.

"It was," Agent Bilkins said with a smirk as he walked to them. "I just so happened to find it in an impound yard."

"Bilkins?" Brian asked in surprise.

"It's your day off?" Roman guessed, looking at Bilkins' casual clothing.

"Yeah, it is," Bilkins chuckled. "And since I was around, I decided to be nice and return the Skyline to her owner."

Brian blinked. "Uh, thank you."

"It's not a problem," Bilkins shrugged. "It isn't fixed yet though."

"No, no—it's okay," Brian said. "The fact you brought it to me is a lot already. Thank you, really."

"As I said, not a problem," Bilkins smiled and turned to Mia. "How's your pregnancy going?"

"It's been great," Mia replied. "There's the morning sickness that sucks, but other than that, it's all been good."

"Good to know," Bilkins nodded. "I guess I'll see you around someday," he said to Brian.

Brian shrugged. "Maybe."

Bilkins smirked. "I just hope it's not in prison."

"No way," Brian laughed.

Bilkins chuckled and waved. "Goodbye, O'Conner."

"So, what was that all about?" Jesse asked after Bilkins said his goodbyes and left.

"Apparently, Bilkins came and gave me my Skyline back for… some reason," Brian replied.

"He must like you," Suki commented.

"I don't know—I wasn't in his favorite people list a year ago," Brian said.

"Things change," Suki shrugged.

"So, I guess we've got a Skyline to fix up?" Jimmy asked excitedly.

"Yeah, we do," Brian laughed and turned to Jesse. "Hey, Jesse, you want to use the Evo?"

"Huh?" Jesse looked confused. "Isn't it your car?"

"I have my Skyline back, so I don't really need it anymore," Brian shrugged.

Jesse grinned. "Well, what can I say? I've got an Evo now!" he cheered and everyone chuckled.

* * *

"So, how did it go this time?" Jesse asked as Mia finished another phone call with Hector. They'd been calling every two weeks since Mia first called after the Verone case was over, hoping to receive an update on Dom. He was discouraged once he noticed the look on Mia's face.

"He hasn't called yet," Mia sighed.

Brian noticed how upset she was and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest to comfort her. He knew how much she wanted her family to be together and her brother to be there for the birth of the baby. She was four months pregnant now, and she was starting to show already. They only had five months left for the birth, and if they didn't manage to contact Dom until then, there was no way he and others would find out about their clean records and Mia's pregnancy.

"There's still time," Suki comforted. "Who knows? Maybe he'll call soon."

"And if he doesn't call, then at least you have us," Jimmy chipped.

Tej nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I mean we know we ain't exactly on Dom's and the others' status, but we're still gonna be there for y'all."

"Yeah, man! It's not like your kid is gonna lack cool uncles and aunts anyways," Roman grinned. "Especially since _I'm_ around!"

Tej gave Roman a long-suffering look. "Bro, you might as well be as cool as a piece of wood. I mean, with that huge ass forehead of yours, I wouldn't be surprised if the kid confuses you with a tree."

Roman crossed his arms and glared while everyone else laughed. "That's cold, man."

Suki rolled her eyes. "The thing is, if your brother and your friends don't make it, you'll have us there. We know we can't replace them, but it's something. And even if they actually call and show up, we're still gonna be there."

Mia smiled. She was cheered up by her friends. It was great to know that they would be there no matter what. She was really thankful. "Thanks, Suki."

She grinned. "No problem. As I've said so many times before, that's what friends are for."

Mia shook her head. "I think you're all a little bit more than friends. You're family now."

Jesse nodded in agreement. "Yeah, just a bunch more of brothers and a sister I need to add on my family list," he joked and everyone chuckled.

* * *

"Hey, Jesse!" Brian greeted as he walked into the garage. "I wanted to ask you somethin'."

"What is it, Bri?" Jesse questioned curiously.

"You know Mia and I've been lookin' for places for a while now," Brian said and Jesse nodded. "Well, we found one. It's a house just a few blocks away. We can go there just walkin'."

"Really? That's great!"

"Yeah, it is," Brian nodded. "And we were wonderin' if you'd like to move in with us. The house is big enough."

Jesse blinked. "You serious?"

"Of course I am! Since we're probably stayin' here for a while now, it's stupid that you keep sharing that cot up in the garage with Rome. You can move in with us, and Rome can go live in our boathouse. That is, if you're willing to live with a baby that will probably cry the whole night through," Brian laughed.

Jesse chuckled. "Well, if that's the case—then I'm in!"

Brian grinned. "Great! I'll tell Mia and Roman about it."

* * *

Mia stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, looking at herself. She, Brian, and Jesse had moved into that house Brian bought, while Roman moved into their boathouse. It was weird being in a new house, but she was quickly getting accustomed to it. Now, she was clad in her underwear, noticing the multiple changes in her body. Her hips were wider, her breasts were bigger, and then there was her baby bump. She put her hands on her stomach and smiled. She was really excited about her baby.

It was then when Brian walked into the bedroom. He smiled when seeing his girlfriend looking at herself in the mirror. She didn't notice him when he entered, only realizing about his presence when he walked up behind her, wrapping an arm around her from behind, resting his hand on top of hers on her baby bump. He kissed her neck. "What're you doin', babe?" he asked, looking at her face through the mirror.

Mia smiled. "Just looking at how my body's been changing."

"It definitely has changed," Brian commented, cupping one of her breasts with his free hand. "But, you still look beautiful," he said, kissing her neck several times.

Mia giggled, tilting her head so that he could have better access to her neck. "Where's Jesse?" she wondered.

"Went out on a date," Brian replied, still kissing her neck. "Which means tonight it's just you and me." He smirked, turning her around and wrapping his arms around her.

Mia smirked back. "Do you have plans?"

"I'm pretty sure you know what my plans are," Brian said with a low voice before leaning down and kissing her. He held her face in his hands as he continued to kiss her passionately. As he had said, tonight it would just be him and her, and he planned to make the best out of it.

* * *

It was a boy.

Their baby was going to be a boy.

That was what the doctor told them last ultrasound when they went to Mia's routine checkup. Brian insisted in driving her and being with her every step of the way—he didn't want to be like his father who didn't bother sticking around for his son. He made Mia and their son his first priority and that made Mia very happy. Still, Brian couldn't stop himself from feeling scared. He was doing everything he could to always be there, but he still didn't know _how_ to be a father. He didn't know if he could actually be a good one considering he had no father figure growing up.

He still didn't tell Mia about his insecurities, not wanting to worry her or stress her. He had talked to Roman and Tej about it, and they both had assured him that he would be a good father. But, even then, Brian wasn't sure. He loved his friends, but neither Tej nor Roman had experience with children and parenting, not to mention they weren't exactly the most mature of people—at least Roman wasn't.

Brian sat in the kitchen, staring at the phone in his hand. Neither Jesse nor Mia were home, so he was on his own, debating against himself. After everything he had done, could he actually call him? He flipped on him, after he had placed his trust on him for the case. He had so much faith in him, and he betrayed him. But, he was the closest thing Brian had to a father. The blond sighed and dialed the number. It only took two rings for him to answer.

_"Tanner."_

"Hey, Sarge," Brian greeted softly.

There was silence for a moment. _"Brian?"_

"Yeah, it's me."

_"Why are you calling me?"_ Tanner asked, a little hint of anger in his voice, even though he hid it well. _"I thought you decided to side with Toretto."_

Brian sighed. He should've expected this. "Yeah, I did, but—"

_"No, Brian. Listen to me for a minute. That case was very important, and I was sure you'd be able to crack it. I was sure we could trust you, Brian. Bilkins was hesitant all along, but there I was, telling him you were the best man for the job. Not to mention it would also help you with your career. But, as you went in undercover and the weeks passed, I started to realize that you were becoming too attached with the Toretto crew, especially the sister. I tried to put you back on track, and when Bilkins gave that ultimatum, I thought you'd get over yourself and arrest Toretto. Instead, I find out that the officer I trusted let Toretto run free._ _You flipped on us, Brian. You flipped on me."_

Brian could hear the disappointment in Tanner's voice, and he felt guilty. He didn't regret letting Dom go or going on the run with Jesse and Mia, but he wished he hadn't disappointed Tanner that much. "I know, Tanner. I'm sorry. I really am. I just… I felt like I belonged somewhere when I was with Mia and Dom and the others, you know? And I started to care for them all. I couldn't arrest the people that just accepted me into their family."

Tanner sighed. _"I remember that I told you there were all kinds of family. I told you that would be a decision you had to make, and for what I can see, you made your choice."_

"Yeah," Brian agreed, remembering the conversation they had. "I don't regret what I did, Tanner. I don't regret fucking that case up. I don't care for the LAPD or the FBI, but I do care about you and I'm sorry I screwed you over."

_"Brian, no matter how angry and disappointed I am, I still care for you,"_ Tanner said, his voice softening. _"I'm not saying that what you did is correct, but I can respect your decision, even though I don't agree with it at all. And I can forgive you, because I know you mean good even though you technically sided with the bad guys and now you're a criminal yourself."_

"Does this mean you forgive me?"

_"I guess I do, yes,"_ Tanner let out a chuckle. _"I don't know why, but I can't stay mad with you for too long."_

Brian laughed. He hadn't realized that Tanner's forgiveness would mean so much to him. "Thanks, Tanner."

_"No problem, kid,"_ the LAPD sergeant replied. _"I'm just glad you're fine."_

"Yeah. My records are clean now, by the way. Bilkins came to me and offered me to do this job in exchange of clean records."

_"Really?"_ Tanner asked, sounding surprised. _"Bilkins of all people offered you a job?"_

"Yeah," Brian let out a laugh. "I don't even know why, but at least now I'm a free man. I even managed to get the records of Dom and the others clean. And I actually rekindled my friendship with Roman."

_"Your childhood friend, you mean? Roman Pearce? I assume he got his record wiped clean as well."_

"Yeah."

_"Well, that's good,"_ Tanner said. _"So, what are you planning to do now that you're a free man again?"_

"I'm in Miami now—made some good friends here. I've been working in a garage with Jesse for a while now, too, so we're gonna keep with that, and now Roman's gonna join us."

_"Jesse? As in Jesse Lindberg from the Toretto crew?"_

"Yeah," Brian replied. "He and Mia came along with me. The three of us went on the run together after what happened."

_"They still went with you after what happened?"_

"Yeah, they did. I'm still not sure why, but they gave me another chance. We're all good."

_"And are you with Mia?"_ Tanner asked. _"I know you had a thing for her back in LA._ _You literally couldn't see past her."_

"Yeah, well," Brian rolled his eyes, but there was a smile in his face. "We're together, yeah. We've been for about a year and a half. And now we've got a baby on the way."

_"What?"_ Tanner asked, obviously shocked. _"You're going to have a baby?"_

"Yeah," Brian replied. "Mia's five months pregnant now."

_"So, four months to go,"_ Tanner observed. _"Congratulations! I must say I'm proud of you. You were like a son to me, kind of, so I guess this kid will be like a grandchild. Wow, I feel old now,"_ he joked, and Brian chuckled. _"Do you know the sex of the baby?"_

"It's a boy," Brian replied.

_"Well, isn't that exciting? I bet you're excited."_

"I am, I am! It's just…" Brian hesitated.

_"Brian?"_

Brian sighed. "It's just that since I didn't have a father, I can't help but feel that I won't be good enough to be a dad. I don't wanna be like him and not be there for my son."

_"Brian, you're not going to be like that,"_ Tanner assured. _"The fact you're already worried about all this just shows how dedicated you are to being a father. Fatherhood is something that can be scary, but you'll learn how to be a father over time. You just have to do your best and you'll make it._ _Trust me."_

Brian nodded slowly, thinking about what Tanner had told him. He definitely felt more assured now. He needed that. "Thanks, Tanner. I mean it."

_"You're welcome, Brian."_

* * *

Mia lay in bed awake while Brian slept soundly beside her. She had woken up early, and instead of trying to sleep again, she just began thinking while caressing her stomach casually. Her mind was full of thoughts about Dom, Letty, Leon, and Vince. Were they okay? Where were they now? Would they ever call? It's been about ten months since Dom last called Hector. Mia could understand why he was not calling, but she was worried. How could they tell the others about their clean records and her pregnancy if they never called?

Suddenly, she felt a light flutter underneath her hand. Mia stopped her hand's movement in surprise. Was that…? Was that what she thought it was?

Her answer was given when she felt another flutter underneath her hand. It was real! She hadn't imagined it! It was her baby! He was kicking!

"Brian!" Mia called as she sat in the bed and began to shake her boyfriend to wake him up. "Brian, wake up!"

"Huh…?" Brian yawned. "What is it?" he asked tiredly.

"The baby! He's kicking!" Mia exclaimed in delight. She grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach. "Feel for yourself."

Brian sat up and ran his hand around on her baby bump. At first he didn't feel anything, but then he felt the light flutter under his hand, and an excited smile made its way to his face.

"Did you feel it?" Mia asked excitedly.

"I did," Brian nodded. He kissed Mia's head gently, wrapping his free arm around her. "That's our baby," he whispered into her ear.

"It is," Mia nodded, her eyes watering in happiness.

"Hey," Brian whispered, wiping the tears that began rolling down her cheeks. "Don't cry."

"You do realize these are happy tears, right?" Mia giggled.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I like to see you cry," Brian replied with a small grin. "These pregnancy hormones are definitely making you more emotional."

"I guess they are," Mia shrugged with a small smile. Brian chuckled and kissed her.

* * *

"That is exciting!" Suki commented as she looked at the picture of the latest ultrasound. "It's amazing how much the baby has grown."

"Yeah, especially considering it was like a peanut five months ago," Jimmy laughed. Mia was six months pregnant, and the baby had definitely grown a lot since the very first ultrasound back when she was one month pregnant.

Tej nodded. "Well, you know what they say—babies grow up fast. Even in the womb, they do."

"Hell yeah. He gonna be around hangin' out with his cool Uncle Roman in no time!" Roman grinned.

Brian shook his head. "You just want my kid to believe you're a badass."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I _am_ a badass!"

"Riiiiight," Tej shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure I've met people that are more badass than you," Mia commented.

Roman gave her a hurt look. "Aw, c'mon, Mia! You're supposed to me on my side."

"I am?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, causing everyone but Roman to laugh.

"I don't think he'll need any badass influence to be a badass himself," Jesse commented. "I mean, two badass parents make one badass child, right?"

Brian smirked. "Yeah, that sounds about right," he said, putting a hand on Mia's baby bump. "We _are_ badasses."

"Oh, sure, _you_ 're a badass, but I'm not," Roman grumbled.

"It's the truth, Rome," Brian grinned, nudging his friend in the ribs playfully.

"The truth hurts, bro," Tej smirked.

* * *

"Hey, Brian?" Mia called as she watched the waves roll upon the shore, her hand stroking her belly. She was seven months pregnant now. They were on the beach, on their 'little place', watching the sunset. Watching the waves and the beauty of the sun setting behind the ocean horizon calmed Mia.

"Yeah?" Brian replied lazily, his arm around her.

"We should pick a name for the baby," she said, turning to look at him. "I don't want him to be born nameless."

Brian nodded. "Alright, baby," he replied.

"Do you have any suggestions?" she asked.

"Well…" Brian hesitated. He did actually have a name in mind, but he didn't know if Mia would like it. "How does Jack sound to you?"

"Jack?" Mia prompted.

Brian nodded. "Yeah."

"I like it," Mia replied, a smile in her face. "Jack O'Conner. Sounds good, don't you think?"

Brian smiled. "It does."

"Okay then—Jack O'Conner it is!" Mia announced brightly.

* * *

Roman, Tej, Suki, and Jimmy went to Brian, Mia, and Jesse's house to eat dinner together with them. It was quite a frequent thing for them to do. They had all gotten really attached these last couple of months, and it comforted Mia and Jesse, because it reminded them of home. Miami had really become a second home for them now. They just wished the team could be there with them, but that wasn't the case. They didn't even know where they were.

"Still no calls?" Suki asked. She didn't have to elaborate because everyone knew she was referring to Dom and the others.

Mia shook her head. "No," she replied, the disappointment obvious in her voice. "I don't think they're gonna make it," she said quietly. "I'm due in two weeks. Even if they call one of these days, who knows if they'll manage to make it on time?"

No-one replied to that, not wanting to upset Mia any further. It was obvious she was really upset over the fact that the team probably wouldn't be there for the birth, and they could all understand her.

"You know," Tej began, breaking the silence. "What I said months ago, it still stands. We know we won't replace your family, but we're here for you."

"We know," Brian replied with a smile.

Mia nodded in agreement. "And as I told you guys months ago; you're family, too. I can't tell you guys how glad I am for having you here."

"You're all awesome," Jesse chipped with a smile.

"You're awesome, too," Jimmy grinned.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? This room reeks of awesomeness," Roman grinned. "Especially since the King of Awesome is here. Y'know what I'm sayin'?"

"The King of Awesome," Tej muttered. "More like the King of Dull."

"Hey!" Roman exclaimed and the others laughed. Mia giggled as well, her disappointment forgotten for now—her friends could always cheer her up.

* * *

Today was the day.

The day Jack O'Conner was born.

Brian had been hanging out with Tej, Roman, Jesse, and Jimmy when he had received a phone call from Suki telling him that Mia's water broke. As soon as he'd heard that, he had jumped into his car and raced to the hospital with the other boys following close behind in their own cars. He arrived just in time, and was able to be there for the birth of his son. He was beside Mia all the time, holding her hand and encouraging her as she gave birth to their son.

Mia now held their baby in her arms and looked at him with adoration. Labor was painful and she was tired, but it was all worth it now that she finally held her son in her arms. "He's beautiful," she said to Brian.

Brian nodded, lying beside Mia on the hospital bed as he watched her hold their son. He was still amazed that the baby Mia was holding belonged to him. "He is."

"Hey, Jack, I'm your mom," Mia cooed softly. "And that's your daddy over there." Brian chuckled at her words, and she smiled. "Do you want to hold him, Brian?"

Brian hesitated at first, but then he nodded. "Sure."

Mia handed him the baby carefully, and as Brian held Jack for the first time, he couldn't help but gaze in wonder at the little child in his arms. He still had a hard time believing that the baby was his. He had known he was going to be a father for eight months already, and he and Mia had prepared for it—setting up the nursery, buying toys, clothes, and a crib—but holding his own son was a completely new experience. He didn't think he'd be capable of loving someone so much in just a few moments of being with them.

"You should get the others," Mia suggested, smiling lovingly as she watched her boyfriend holding their son in his arms. "They'll want to meet him."

"Yeah," Brian nodded, handing Jack back to Mia and kissing her forehead softly. He walked out of the room, and saw how his friends jumped up from their seats as soon as they saw him. He grinned at them all, his happiness obvious to the whole world. "Mia and the baby are both fine. Wanna come to see them?"

"Of course we do!" Suki replied.

"We want to see the baby O'Conner!" Roman cheered.

Brian laughed, letting Roman, Tej, Suki, Jimmy, and Jesse into the room where his girlfriend and child were. They all stared at the baby in wonder and awe as Mia handed him back to Brian. They couldn't believe the baby was finally there.

"Hey, little guy!" Jesse greeted the baby in Brian's arms.

"Oh, my God," Suki whispered. "He is so cute!"

"He is, gotta admit it," Tej nodded with a smile.

"It's amazing," Jimmy commented, still in awe.

Roman shook his head with a smile. "Brian O'Conner with a baby in his arms," he said, grinning. "Who would've thought?"

Brian laughed. "I hardly even believe it myself."

"Can I hold him?" Suki asked Brian. He nodded and handed her the baby carefully. "Hey, little guy," she cooed.

"So, you guys had a name picked out for him already, right?" Jimmy asked, watching as Suki handed the baby back to Mia.

"That's right," Mia nodded.

Brian smiled, looking at his girlfriend and son with adoring eyes. "Meet Jack O'Conner."

That moment was almost perfect to Mia. There was only one thing missing—the team. The presence of her brother, Letty, Vince, and Leon would've made it absolute perfection. She was the happiest she had been in years—in fact, that was the happiest moment of her life—but it upset her that they weren't able to be there for the birth of her child. And as she watched her friends and boyfriend spend time with her newborn child, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever see the team again.


	8. Parenthood

"Lemme hold him."

"No."

"Oh, c'mon! I'm his uncle, too! Lemme hold him!"

" _No_."

"You let _everyone_ else hold that baby, and not me?" Roman complained. "C'mon, man! I was supposed to be your boy!"

"Just because you're my friend, it doesn't mean I can trust you with my kid," Brian replied, holding his month-old son against his chest protectively.

"Why not?!"

"Are you seriously askin'?"

"I won't do anything to him!" Roman argued. "I'll be careful, I swear."

Brian stared at Roman for a long moment before sighing. "Rome, I swear, if something happens to Jack I'm gonna kill your ass—it doesn't matter if you're my best friend. I'm not joking."

"A'ight!" Roman agreed quickly. "Now lemme hold him!"

"Do you even know how to hold a baby?" Brian questioned.

"Did you?"

"I'm holdin' one right now, aren't I?" Brian rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't mean you actually knew how to hold one before," Roman muttered.

"Whatever. Listen, Rome, you gotta be _really_ careful with Jack's head," Brian told him. "Support his head with one hand, and his back with your other. Got it?"

Roman nodded. "Yeah."

"For sure?"

Roman groaned. "Yes, Brian!"

"Alright," Brian replied, eyeing him. "Just makin' sure."

Brian carefully handed his child over to his best friend. He watched warily as Roman shifted Jack in his arms, making an effort to be as careful as possible. Once he got used to having a baby in his arms, Roman grinned as he looked down at his best friend's son. "Hey, this ain't so bad!"

" _Holy shit_!" Tej exclaimed as he walked to them. "Am I seein' correctly? Roman Pearce is holdin' a baby and actually doin' a good job at it?"

"Shut up, Tej," Roman sneered.

Tej shook his head. "I don't know what's more surprising—the fact you're holding a baby or the fact you actually convinced Brian to let you hold him in the first place."

"He was literally beggin' me to let him hold Jack," Brian said. "He's just too damn insistent."

"That's for damn sure," Tej agreed.

Roman glared at the two of them. "Fuck you all."

"You should really start getting used to _not_ cuss when my son is around," Mia scolded him as she walked towards them with Suki. "Also, can someone explain to me why _Roman_ is holding Jack?"

"Because he's way too insistent, that's why," Brian replied, shaking his head.

"Of course he is," Suki commented, rolling her eyes. "He's Rome after all."

"Hey!"

"That's true," Mia laughed.

Jack began getting fussy in Roman's arms, and he began to cry. Roman panicked instantly. "Oh, shit. Oh, _shit_! What did I do?"

"Nothing," Mia laughed, taking her son from Roman. "He's just hungry."

" _Oh_ ," Roman breathed a sigh of relief and everyone laughed at his face. The look on his face had been like the look he would have if he was told Carter Verone escaped from prison, and it was very amusing for the group to watch. They wouldn't let Roman live in peace anymore, telling Jesse and Jimmy as soon as the two mechanics joined them and teasing Roman for days straight.

Roman thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to insist to hold Jack after all.

* * *

"Did you ever think you'd be awake feeding a baby at five a.m.?" Mia asked with a grin as she watched her boyfriend feed their three-month-old son his bottle.

"Honestly?" Brian asked rhetorically. "No. Not really. I mean, I didn't even think about being a father before you told me you were pregnant. I don't mind doing this, but I wouldn't mind being able to sleep one night straight either."

"We're two," Mia yawned. They couldn't get too much sleep because Jack kept them both awake constantly. It was worth it because they loved their son, but they did miss those nights when you slept soundly and didn't wake up until the morning. Sometimes Jesse slept without being woken up by Jack, but other times he woke up too, and he'd show up in Jack's nursery to try and put Jack down the three of them together.

Brian yawned after Mia did. "Don't yawn—yawns are contagious," he said and Mia giggled.

"I can't help it. I'm tired."

"Me too," Brian agreed, burping Jack. "The hardships of bein' parents, huh?"

"Yeah," Mia laughed.

After what felt like forever, they were finally able to put the new addition down in his crib. They went to bed themselves to try and get some sleep themselves, but after what it felt like a minute of sleeping, Jack's cries resounded once again through the monitor.

"Oh, for fuck's sake…" Brian groaned, burying his face into the pillow. "You'd think I'd be already used to this. I don't even know why I thought we'd actually get some sleep."

"The hardships of being parents," Mia laughed as she got out of bed and went to Jack's nursery, repeating his previous words.

"Yeah," Brian mumbled, yawning as he got out of bed as well and followed Mia. "If this wasn't my kid, I so wouldn't be doing this right now."

"He needs a diaper change," Mia informed and then laughed at Brian's expression.

"God damn it," he muttered, shaking his head, but he couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face as he watched his son in his mother's arms. "You're lucky I love you so much, kiddo."

* * *

"Tej, chill out a little," Suki rolled her eyes at her lover as she watched him read an article about taking care of a baby. "You've been reading articles on how to take care of babies all morning already. We're just gonna be looking after Jack for a few hours, and Mia and Brian pretty much already told us everything we should know."

"It's a four-month-old baby. I don't wanna screw anything up," Tej justified as he kept reading the article.

Suki shook her head and turned to Jack who was sitting happily on his stroller. "Look, Jack, your Uncle Tej is just ridiculous," she cooed, making Jack laugh.

She and Tej had offered to look after Jack for a few hours, thinking Brian and Mia deserved a break. It wasn't so hard to convince them, and now they were at her home with baby Jack with them. She loved babies so she didn't mind looking after Jack. And Tej took taking care of Jack seriously, too—maybe _way_ too seriously. He had read up on babies and he insisted to do everything by the books, much to Suki's amusement and annoyance.

Things were peaceful, until Jack began to wail, and Tej immediately panicked. "Shit, _shit_! Is he hungry? Hurt? Needs a diaper change or somethin'?"

"Don't panic, Tej! You're worse than Roman right now," Suki commented. As soon as the name 'Roman' came out from Suki's mouth, Jack's cries stopped and he began giggling. Suki smiled at the blue-eyed baby. "See? He's alright."

"Can someone explain to me why did he stop crying when Roman was mentioned?" Tej asked, and he groaned when Jack giggled again at the mention of Roman's name. "Seriously?!"

"He must think Rome is funny or something," Suki guessed. "He always makes Jack laugh."

"I don't understand how he does it. Maybe that big-ass forehead looks funny to Jack," Tej grinned.

"Whatever you say," Suki rolled her eyes, continuing to play with Jack. She looked at the boy's blond hair and blue eyes, and smiled. "He's adorable. I bet he's gonna be really handsome when he grows up."

"How do you know that?"

"Because he looks exactly like Bullet."

Tej raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"And Bullet is hot," Suki shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if Jack is handsome, too, with Bullet as his father."

"So, Brian is hot, huh?" Tej asked, trying to hide the jealousy in his voice. "Last time I checked, Brian was with Mia and you were with me."

"I am with you, but I have eyes, too, man," Suki said. "I can notice when a guy's handsome. And besides, Mia already knows I think that. Actually, pretty much every girl around think that."

"Well, isn't that great," Tej muttered.

"You're jealous."

"I'm not."

"Yeah, right," Suki snorted. She grinned when Jack giggled again. "I want one."

"You want one what?" Tej questioned.

"A baby," Suki shrugged.

"I'm not having a kid!" Tej replied.

"Oh, come on! Maybe not now, but in the future—it'd be nice to have a child we could call our own," Suki replied. "I mean, if we're still together. But, we're pretty serious now, so maybe we'll still be together when that happens."

"It's not gonna happen."

"How do you know?" Suki raised an eyebrow. "I'm talking about having a baby, Tej, not a monster. Don't you think having a child would be nice?"

"I'll think about it," Tej said after a moment, glaring at the floor.

"Great!" Suki cheered. "Look, Jack, maybe you'll have a cousin in the future!" she exclaimed and Jack laughed.

Tej sighed. Maybe offering to take care of Jack wasn't such a good idea after all. Having Jack around was giving Suki ideas.

* * *

"How's the coolest baby in the whole world doin'?" Jesse cooed, grinning at the baby in his arms. They were sitting around a table at Brian's, playing poker. Jack laughed, waving his arms. "You're good, aren't ya?" He glanced at Tej and his grin widened. "Wanna hold him, Tej?"

"No, you can keep him!" Tej quickly replied.

Roman raised an eyebrow as he watched the man sitting in front of him. "Since when you're so allergic to babies, Tej?"

"He's been like that ever since he babysat Jack a month ago," Brian commented. "Did something happen?"

"No," Tej answered, not looking up from his cards.

"If Jack did something, you have to tell us, Tej," Mia said gently.

Suki rolled her eyes, looking up from her cards. "Nothing happened, Mia. Jack was a sweetheart. Tej is just mad because Jack laughs every time Roman is mentioned." As if on cue, Jack began giggling in Jesse's arms. "See?"

Roman grinned widely. "Well, what can I say? I am a funny guy."

"Of course you are. In fact, you're a living joke," Brian said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"I know," Roman's grin widened.

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Well, I'm takin' it as one."

"Yeah, whatever," Tej muttered. "Takin' care of your kid is giving Suki ideas."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow. "Ideas?" he asked, a smirk making his way into his face. He turned to Suki. "What does he mean?"

"Oh, not much," Suki shrugged casually. "I just want to have a baby of my own in the future."

Mia gasped excitedly. "You do?"

"Yes!" Suki squealed. "Babies are too cute and I love spending time with them."

"You're gonna love being a mother then!" Mia grinned. "I could help you when you have your own child. Maybe your kid and Jack could be best friends!"

"Or like siblings!" Suki suggested.

"Yeah!"

"Oh, my God…" Tej's head hit the table and groaned. "Why me?"

Brian chuckled and patted Tej's shoulder. "Well, it looks like I won't be the only father around for long," he grinned cheekily.

"Shut up, O'Conner."

* * *

"Hey, guys?" Jesse called from the couch in the living room.

"Yeah, Jesse?" Mia called from the kitchen.

"Since when Jack can crawl?"

"He _what_?!" Mia questioned as she rushed out of the kitchen with Brian following behind her. They both halted when seeing Jack crawling around in front of the couch Jesse was sitting on.

"Uh, since when Jack can crawl?"

"Since now, apparently," Brian replied as he watched his son crawl for the first time. He wasn't going too fast and he didn't seem to be too agile, but it definitely was one hell of progress and that made the blond proud.

"Oh, my God," Mia murmured. "He's six-and-a-half months old and he's crawling already! It seems like yesterday when he was born."

"They grow up fast," Brian commented, wrapping his arm around Mia's shoulder.

"They do," Mia nodded, trying not to be too emotional.

"He's gonna be runnin' around in no time," Jesse commented with a grin as he watched Jack crawl towards his parents.

"Hey, buddy!" Brian greeted softly as he picked up Jack. "So you learned how to crawl, huh? Who learned how to crawl right now? Who did?" he asked in a baby voice. Jack squealed in response. "Yeah—you did!"

Mia smiled at the sight of her boyfriend with her son. Those little moments were the moments she loved.

* * *

"No luck?" Brian asked as he watched Mia enter the room with a sigh.

"No luck," Mia replied, sitting beside Brian and taking Jack from her boyfriend's arms. "He hasn't called yet. I'm starting to think Dom won't ever call now. I mean, it's been over a year and a half since he last called Hector."

"I've tried to trace him," Jesse spoke up, looking up from his laptop. "I haven't been able to find him yet. It's like he disappeared. Rumor has it he's been around South America, but I don't know where exactly. But, he isn't on prison, at least."

"That's good," Mia nodded. "I just want us to be together… Dom should know he has a nephew. I feel guilty because he doesn't know."

"Don't be," Brian told her seriously. "The fact Dom doesn't know about Jack isn't your fault. You've done everything you can to contact him. To this point, it's something you can't control and that doesn't make you guilty."

Mia nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" She sighed. "There's this part of me that's afraid that he'll never find out and we'll never see them again."

"Dom does everything for his family," Brian said. "He stopped calling Hector because he didn't want him in trouble, but that doesn't mean they've forgotten about you two. I don't think Dom would never try to come and see you, or at least get in contact with you."

"We're not hiding anymore," Mia muttered. "And everyone knows us here. It shouldn't be _that_ hard to find us."

"But, they're hiding," Jesse said. "They probably don't even know they can come back to the States."

Mia sighed again. "I just hope they're okay, and I really hope they haven't done anything stupid."

"D'you think they've been pullin' more heists?" Brian asked. "I mean, they're on the run and they don't know they're free. They must think it doesn't matter anymore."

"I hope not," Mia replied.

"There's news about some truck heists around," Jesse said hesitantly. "It doesn't say who did 'em though…"

"And knowing Dom, it was probably them," Mia sighed in frustration. "Jesus Christ—you'd think they've learned their lesson already!"

"As I said, they probably think it doesn't matter anymore 'cause they're on the run," Brian said. "We need to find a way to contact them to tell them about their records and make 'em stop."

"I'll keep trying to find them," Jesse chipped.

"And I'll keep calling Hector to see what's up," Mia said. She turned to her son in her arms. "I hope you get to meet your Uncle Dom someday, Jack. You'd love him," she whispered, and smiled when he squealed and giggled.

* * *

Mia looked over at Brian, who was lying beside her on his stomach with his head buried in the pillows. They were in bed after putting Jack down for the night. He was eight months old and he was finally starting to sleep more continuously, which was great for his parents. Mia hesitated to speak what was on her mind. There was something she noticed that she intended to talk about, but she didn't know how to. She decided to just go with it and see how it went. "Hey… Bullet?"

"Bullet?" Brian chorused as he lifted his head up to glance at Mia in confusion. "Since when you call me that?"

"Since I wanted to talk about something… something related to that," Mia said.

"To what?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"The fast life," Mia replied, even though she knew he already knew what she was referring to. "Do you miss it?"

"Do I miss it...?" Brian repeated, like if asking the question to himself.

Mia nodded. "You've been great to me and Jack all this time, Brian, and I'm so glad for that. But, I couldn't help but notice that you aren't used to this life. This house is like an anchor to you." Brian opened his mouth to protest but she put a finger on his lips. "It's okay. I know you don't want me to see it, but I already have. I need you to be honest with me. Do you miss the girls, the cars?"

"No," Brian shook his head. "I don't miss the girls. I don't miss the cars. I miss…" he hesitated.

"C'mon, Brian," Mia encouraged softly. "Tell me, please."

"I miss the bullets," Brian admitted.

"The bullets?"

Brian shrugged. "I've been in danger for so long, it's feels so weird to know that I don't have to look over my shoulder anymore—and I… I miss it." He shook his head and chuckled slightly. "I know I'm fucked up, but—"

"No," Mia shook her head. "No, you're not. You're just not used to a calm life. It's not your fault." Her lip quivered. "But, if… if you're not happy with this life—with me and Jack—then—"

"I've never been so happy in my entire life," Brian refuted quickly, lifting himself to sit up and hold her face in his hands. "Mia, I love you and I love Jack. And I love this life. I'm not used to it, but I wouldn't change it for anything in this world."

"I—I'm glad to hear that," Mia smiled. "It's just… I was afraid that me and Jack are chafing you, and—"

"You're not," Brian quickly replied. He smiled at her. "In fact, the best decision I've ever made in my life was to walk into that store and buy that first sandwich. Remember?"

"Of course I do! How can I forget?" Mia laughed.

"Tuna on white, no crust," he grinned.

Mia giggled. "That nasty tuna sandwich."

"Yeah," Brian laughed. "This life… I guess I just need time to get completely used to it. But, don't you think for a second that you and Jack are chafing me. You two are my world and I'd do anything for you." He kissed her lips. "I love you, Mia."

"I love you, too," Mia replied as she leaned into another kiss that eventually turned into something more.

* * *

It was Sunday, and the garage was closed. Brian, Jesse and Jack were the only ones in the garage—the two adults working on the Skyline. Tej had gone out to do some 'business' or something. Roman was in the boathouse, probably still knocked out. From what Jesse was telling Brian, the party at Saturday night had been amazing and Roman drank way too much and scored himself a good looking woman. That didn't surprise Brian, because that was just Roman being Roman.

He barely went to parties anymore, staying home with Mia and Jack instead. A part of him missed partying, but that didn't matter because he loved spending time with his family. They had fun their own way. Sometimes Jesse stayed with them as well, and other times, the whole group would ditch a party to spend time together.

As he worked on the Skyline, Brian glanced at Jack to make sure he was still in his play pin and that nothing would happen. Mia went out with Suki—probably shopping—so Brian stayed with his son. A garage wasn't the safest of places for a baby, but Jack loved it there. It was obvious he inherited the loved for cars from his parents already, and he actually enjoyed watching his father and uncle work on a car.

"Lookin' out for a baby is hard, aye?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah," Brian nodded, but there was a smile on his face. "You look away one second and they're already gone—it's terrible." He glanced back to Jack, who was still in his play pin that prevented the baby from crawling off. "Thank God for play pins. They're lifesavers."

"Yeah," Jesse laughed.

"So, you haven't found anything on Dom and the team yet?" Brian asked.

"Nope," Jesse sighed.

"Well, damn," Brian muttered. "They've done a good job hiding."

"Yeah," Jesse agreed, following Brian's eyes when he glanced at Jack once more. He smiled at the baby. "I wonder how they'd react to him."

"Jack?" Brian inquired. He shook his head at the thought. "Well, I guess they'll be shocked. And I wouldn't be surprised if Dom tries to kill me—same goes for Vince."

"Why would they wanna kill you?" Jesse asked. "I mean I can understand Vince, but Dom? That's his nephew!"

"Former cop that was sent to bust your ass has knocked up your sister while on the run after she chose the cop over you," Brian rolled his eyes. "That is just great."

"I guess, but Dom loves Mia, right?" Jesse asked. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt her, and that must include beating your ass—I hope."

"You hope?" Brian raised his eyebrows. "Wow, thanks, Jesse."

Jesse laughed slightly. "Yeah, well—you can't be so sure with Dom."

"Yeah," Brian shrugged. "I just hope the day he comes back ain't the day I die."

"Is he even coming back?" Jesse asked. "I mean, we haven't been able to contact him yet. Maybe we won't even be able to in the future."

"Never give up on hope, Jess," Brian said. "It may happen at any moment—whether it is now or twenty years in the future—it may happen."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then it doesn't," Brian shrugged. "Fate is a bitch."

"It sure is."

* * *

_No. This couldn't be happening. Brian couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. She loved him—she_ needed _him. As if that wasn't enough; Jesse, Suki, Tej, Roman and Jimmy were in the hospital fighting for their lives. Not to mention Dom and the team were busted and were sent back to prison, so she couldn't ask help to anyone. And her son—the most important person in the world to her—had disappeared. He was gone, and she didn't know where he was or if he was okay. All because of revenge at the hands of Carter Verone._

_This couldn't be real. It had to be a dream. It had to! This couldn't be happening. It was just a bad dream. A terrible nightmare, that had to be it. And she only wished that this wasn't real at all and that she could wake up from—_

"Mia! Mia, wake up!"

Mia gasped and opened her eyes quickly to see Brian looking down at her with worry. Just the sight of him—alive and well—made her eyes fill with tears as relief filled her mind. Brian wasn't even able to react when his girlfriend had her arms around him tightly and was sobbing against his chest.

"You're alive… you're alive!" she sobbed, hugging him tighter.

"Yeah, I am," Brian replied, a bit confused, but hugging her back nonetheless. He had woken up in the middle of the night when he heard whimpering and noticed Mia was having a nightmare, so he tried to wake her up. As soon as he did so, she reached out and hugged him like if he'd disappear if she let go. So, he deduced he must've died in her nightmare. "I'm fine, Mia. I'm fine."

She was so relieved her boyfriend was okay, and she was assured that it was just a nightmare, but she still felt paranoiac and restless. "Where's Jack?" she asked, breathing healivily.

"He's sleeping in his nursery," Brian replied smoothly, rubbing Mia's back to calm her down.

Mia breathed a sigh of relief when Brian assured her their ten-month-old child was okay. "Jesse and the others?"

"Probably sleepin'."

"And Dom and the team? They're not in jail, are they?"

"Not as far as we know."

"Thank God," Mia breathed a sigh of relief and leaned on Brian's chest. "I had such a terrible nightmare…"

"Wanna talk about it?" Brian asked, running a hand through her hair.

"Carter Verone had somehow escaped prison and wanted revenge," Mia told him. "He came and sent everyone to the hospital, and they were all fighting for their lives. Then he… he killed you," her eyes filled with tears at the thought of it. "And he kidnapped Jack. Dom and the others were caught and in prison, so I didn't have anyone anymore, and I didn't know where Jack was or how to get him back and stop Verone." She sobbed slightly. "I'm so glad it was just a dream…"

"It was," Brian kissed her head. "That's not gonna happen anytime soon, got it? Verone will get out eventually, but that's gonna be _years_ from now. And when he gets out, if he tries to mess with us, I swear I'm puttin' a bullet in his head."

"That's good to know," she whispered. "But, don't get sent to prison. Dom already did time for beating a guy's face up…"

"Let's not even talk about this," Brian shook his head. "There's no need to think of the future. We have to focus on now." He smiled. "And now we should go back to sleep."

"Yeah," Mia nodded, yawning. "I just hope I won't have another nightmare…"

"I'll be here," Brian told her, shifting their positions so they were lying down comfortably, with her head on his chest and his arms around her. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Thank you," Mia smiled and kissed his lips. "Goodnight."

"Night."

* * *

Dom watched as Tego and Rico—two friends they met while they were on the Dominican Republic—bickered in Spanish again. They always did that, and it usually amused him. This time, though, it didn't. His mind was somewhere else. He found himself thinking again about his little sister and Jesse. He hadn't heard from them for _years_ now, and he constantly wondered about them. Were they okay? Were they still with Brian? Were they separated? Where were they? Were they in the States or somewhere else? Were they in jail? Were they… dead?

He shook his head. He refused to even _think_ they were dead. They couldn't be dead. Right?

He wished he could contact them, but he didn't know how. He didn't even want to call Hector because he didn't want to cause the man more trouble, but he was the only source of information he had about what was going on in LA. But, Hector hadn't known anything on Mia, Jesse, and Brian anyways, even though it's been over two years since he last called the man.

He missed them so much. More than once had he seen Mia in the kitchen cooking, or on the couch studying, or Jesse working on a car, or sitting with his laptop working on designs; only to realize that they weren't there—his mind was making it up. That was just how much he missed them. And he knew the team missed them, too. Letty missed her best friend, Leon missed the guy that was like his kid brother, and Vince missed them both as well.

They were currently in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was far away from home, but they hadn't been home for three years now. They had gone to Rio after the last heist they pulled off in the Dominican Republic. A friend they met that helped them with the heist, Cara Mirtha, had a friend in Brazil that could give them a place to stay for a while. That friend was a Brazilian woman named Rosa, who received them all with open arms and has since then given them safe haven.

The whole team was together now. All their new friends they had acquired in these three years were with them. There were only two—hell, actually three—people missing and Dom didn't even know where they were.

He wished they could be together right now.

"You're doin' that again," Letty suddenly said, snapping him from his thoughts. He looked up from where he was sitting to see his girlfriend standing in front of him with her arms crossed.

"Doing what?"

"Spacin' out," Letty replied. "And I know _why_ you're spacing out in the first place." Dom looked down and gave one shouldered shrug, but he didn't give any vocal reply. "Dom," she said lowly. "I think you should call Hector."

"What?" Dom frowned, returning his gaze back to her. "Are you kidding me? I can't do that."

"You know damn well that you can," Letty said, narrowing her eyes. "You just ain't doin' it 'cause the cops began to suspect Hector."

"Isn't that a reason good enough?"

"That was two years ago, Dom," Letty sighed. "They must've given up a while ago."

"How can you be so sure?" Dom asked, narrowing his own eyes at her.

"They're not so God damn insistent," Letty replied back. She spun on her heel and faced the rest of the crew. "Yo, guys!" she called. "You think the cops already gave up on Hector?"

"I don't know," Leon shrugged.

"They probably did," Han replied, standing beside Gisele. He had met the woman during a street race almost a year ago, and they began to hang out until eventually, they ended up being in a serious relationship. Gisele worked for a drug dealer in Mexico before meeting Han, but she gave up on the job to be with the Korean and had been around with them ever since.

"Why are you asking?" Vince asked gruffly, standing beside Rosa. Rosa was probably the first woman Vince had a genuine interest in after Mia, which was very good news for the team, but they weren't in a romantic relationship yet. At least they were getting along and Vince really cared for her—and not only because of physical appearance—which was an advance, and the team was sure they'd be on a romantic relationship pretty soon.

"Letty wants me to call Hector," Dom replied.

"It's been two years already!" Letty argued. "It should already be fine to call him. Something might have happened these two years since we last called. What if he knows something about Mia and Jesse? What if we can go home already?"

"What if he doesn't?" Dom refuted.

"Then at least we'll know he doesn't!" Letty shot back.

"Letty's right, Dom," Vince said. "We should call."

"You think that, too, Vince?" Dom asked, turning to look at his best friend. "What if Hector gets in trouble again? Or if the cops follow our trail to here?"

"They won't," Letty shook her head.

"Dom, man, you should call," Leon said. "Let is right. He might know somethin' about Jesse and Mia, dawg."

It took a bit longer to convince him, but after all his team insisted on calling, Dom sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'll call."

* * *

"Yo?" Hector answered his phone without even looking at the number. By this point, the only people who called him were his boys, his family or Mia.

_"Hector?"_

"Holy shit," Hector sputtered, feeling as surprised as he had been when Mia had called the first time. Maybe even more surprised. "Dom?"

_"Keep your voice down, Hector."_

"There's no need, man," Hector said, shaking his head. He had forgotten Dom didn't know that Brian had gotten them all clean records. "I'm surprised you called after all this time. It's been, what—two years?"

_"Yeah. Sorry, Hector,"_ Dom apologized. _"I just didn't want you get into more trouble with the cops."_

"The cops stopped focusing on me after a month. It wasn't necessary to avoid calling for two years. Hell, not even Mia took that long to call."

There was silence on the other line. _"…What?"_

"Mia called," Hector explained. "About a year after y'all left, she called. Said she, Jesse, and the Snowman were all fine an' dandy. She's been callin' ever since. Last time she called was a week ago."

_"You're shitting me,"_ Dom said in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Mia had been in contact with Hector for so long, and that he hadn't known because _he_ had decided not to call. The guilt ate at him as he realized he could've been in contact with his sister if he had just phoned Hector. _"Fuck! I've been worried about them for so long, and they were in contact with you all this time. Shit."_ He paused, the fact Hector was in contact with his sister finally sinking in. He could finally know about his sister. _"How is she?"_

"As I said—fine," Hector replied. "Same goes for Jesse."

_"That's good to know,"_ Dom replied softly, glad to hear the two of them were okay. _"Is she still with Brian?"_

"Yeah," Hector paused as he thought about Jack and bit his lip. The kid had turned one three weeks ago, and Dom didn't even know he existed. _Shit._ Dom would be pissed. Hector had known that ever since Mia told him she was pregnant. Dom would be _so fucking pissed_ when he found out Brian of all people knocked up his sister. Hector was sure of it. He didn't want to deal with an angry Dom, because Dom could be so damn _dangerous_ when angered.

_"And they're happy?"_

"Uh, yeah—yeah! Yeah, they're happy," Hector replied quickly, stopping himself from mentioning Jack. "I—I mean, how can they not be happy after getting clean records?"

_"What?"_

"Apparently, the Feds offered a job to the Snowman in exchange of clean records for all of you," Hector explained. "That was almost two years ago. You've had clean records for almost two years, Dom. There was no need for y'all to hide anymore."

_"You are fucking shitting me, Hector,"_ Dom said disbelieving.

"I'm not, Dom. Your records are clean. It's legit."

_"Shit. I've been pullin' heists all over Latin America while my records were fuckin' clean all fuckin' along?!"_ Dom sighed. _"Fucking hell!"_

Hector had a feeling that would've happened. He knew Dom. "But, do they know it's you who's pullin' 'em off?"

Dom breathed in slowly. _"No, I think not."_

"Then take your chance and come back to the States!" Hector said. "If they don't know it's you, they won't do shit."

_"I guess,"_ Dom replied quietly. _"Do you, uh, know where Mia is? Is she back in LA?"_

"Nope. She lives in Miami with Jesse and Brian," he once again stopped himself from mentioning Jack.

_"In Miami, aye?"_ Dom asked. _"You know where?"_

"Uh, said she lived near a place called Tej's Garage or some shit like that," Hector said. "Why you askin'?" he inquired, even though deep down he already knew the answer.

_"I'm gonna visit my sister and Jesse. Haven't seen 'em in almost three years,"_ Dom answered, his voice happy. _"It'll be great to be together again. Don't tell them we're comin', okay, Hector? Let's make it a surprise."_

Hector could hear the grin in Dom's face, and he could imagine how it'd disappear when he met Jack. "A'ight…"

_"Awesome."_

They spent talking for a while longer until Dom told him he had to tell the news to the team and cut off the call. Hector stared at the phone. His guilt was eating away at him for not telling Dom about Jack, but he couldn't find the courage to. He knew Dom, and he knew the man would be furious. Maybe after a while he'd accept the fact he has a nephew and he'd end up loving Jack, but there would be a fucking storm before that—a volcanic explosion, basically. Not to mention Vince would be there, and even though he's had three years to move on from Mia, he definitely wouldn't be happy that the man he hates the most is the father of Mia's child. Hector knew shit would go down and he didn't want to be a part of that.

"The Snowman's fuckin' dead," he muttered, shaking his head, kind of feeling sorry for the blond dude. He didn't know what was coming after him.


	9. The Surprise Family Reunion

This was happening.

This was _actually_ happening.

They were on their way to Tej's Garage to finally see Brian, Mia and Jesse after three years. _Three years_. Dom was happy that he'd see his little sister and his friend once again, but a part of him was scared. Things change after three years, and he didn't even know if Mia and Jesse were the same people he knew. Mia had been a twenty-one-year-old woman and Jesse had been an eighteen-year-old teenager last time he saw them; but now, they were twenty-four and twenty-one. Clearly they would've grown up; or maybe, they hadn't grown up at all.

They were driving to Tej's in two different cars. Dom, Letty, Vince and Leon were in one car while Han, Gisele, Tego and Rico were in another one. Rosa and Cara had stayed behind in Rio, wishing them good luck. Han, Gisele, Tego, and Rico didn't know Mia, Jesse, and Brian, so they weren't really worried about the meeting, but the occupants of the other car sure were. Dom knew they felt the same way he did. They spend the whole drive talking about it. They didn't know how Mia and Jesse would react to seeing them again, or how _they_ themselves would react. After all, even though it was in the past, the fact Mia chose Brian over them and that Jesse joined them was still in the back of their minds.

When they arrived to the garage, the nervous atmosphere was obvious, even though they all tried to ignore it.

"So, this is it," Dom muttered, clutching his steering wheel with sweating hands. He didn't think he'd get so nervous over seeing _his own little sister_ again.

"Am I the only one who's, like, real nervous?" Leon asked.

Vince shook his head. "No."

"We shouldn't be," Letty said, breathing in to calm herself down. "They're our family. Nothin' to worry about…"

Dom took a big breath and nodded. "Let's do this."

They got out of their cars and joined the others, who looked impressed by Tej's Garage. And rightfully so, because the garage was definitely full of life. It was really modern, there was music booming from some speakers, and they could see a great amount of people hanging around in the back. It was impressive.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect this," Gisele commented as she watched the party unfold in the back of the garage.

"I can see why they decided to stay here," Han nodded in agreement.

The others looked around, trying to get used to their new surroundings. They saw people working on some cars, which was to be expected because it was a garage. But, one of those mechanics caught Leon's attention. His face was one of shook as he watched the man talk to an Asian guy while they worked on a car. He would always recognize that kid, even if he was three years older now, and while Hector had told them they were there, he was still surprised to see him in the first place. "Jesse?"

The crew all turned to look at the guy Leon was looking at as Jesse's head shot up when he heard his name. That was a voice Jesse hadn't heard in three years, but recognized anyways. And the only thing he could do was stare in shock at the people he had started to fear he'd never see again. "L—Leon?" he stammered. "Letty? Vince? Dom?"

Jimmy's face turned into one of shock as he heard the names of Jesse's old friends, looking at the group in amazement. So they were the team Mia, Jesse and even Brian always talked about?

"Jesse," Dom laughed as he walked over to his friend. "It's been a long time, kid."

"Yeah…" Jesse replied, still trying to process Dom and the crew were actually there. "It has been…"

"You look great, Jess!" Letty commented, giving him a hug. "We can hardly call you a kid anymore. You've grown up!"

"Yeah, well, it's been three years," Jesse shrugged. "How—how the hell did you find us? We hadn't been able to contact you…"

"We called Hector," Vince explained. "Said you were here."

"How you been, dawg?" Leon asked excitedly, happy to have his best friend back, giving him a man-hug.

"Been fine," Jesse grinned, and they could notice the kid was genuinely happy. "Oh! This is—this is Jimmy," he introduced. "He's been workin' here from even before we arrived."

"'Sup?" Jimmy greeted.

"Hey," Dom replied back. He turned back to Jesse. "We have to introduce some people ourselves. These are Han, his girlfriend Gisele, and those two are Leo and Santos."

"Hey," Jesse smiled.

"What's up?" Han replied.

"I just saw my friends after three years, that what's up," Jesse joked, grinning widely.

Dom laughed. "That's true. Where's Mia?"

Jesse nodded. "Mia is somewhere in the back," he replied. "She's gonna be so happy to see you guys!"

Dom smiled at the thought of seeing his sister again, even though he felt his stomach clench with nervousness. "We wanna see her."

"Of course! Follow me!" Jesse replied excitedly, happy to have his friends back, and run to were Mia was standing talking to some people. "Mia! Mia!"

"What is it, Jess?" she asked, turning around, but halting dead in her tracks when seeing her older brother and the team standing there.

"Mia," Dom smiled when seeing his beautiful sister again. She somehow looked even prettier than she did back in LA.

"Oh, my God…" she whispered, her eyes glistening with tears, and then she rushed into her brother's arms. "Dom! I missed you so much!"

Dom hugged his sister back, happiness flowing within him. He didn't care what happened in the past anymore—if Mia chose the buster over him or not. It didn't matter. All that mattered is that he had his sister in his arms again. "I missed you, too."

After a while, she let go and smiled up at her brother, before glancing at Letty and letting out a squeal. "Letty!"

"Hey, girl!" Letty cheered, and the two girls hugged, laughing.

"I can't believe you guys are here," Mia said. "It's like it were a dream." She looked at Leon and Vince and smiled. "Leon! Vince!"

"Hey, Mia!" Leon greeted happily.

"Hey," Vince greeted gruffly. He still felt a bit hurt that Mia had chosen Brian over him, even though he was starting to move on. He still disagreed with her decisions, and it still angered that he wasn't the guy that made Mia happy. It didn't mean that he wasn't happy of seeing her, though, so he gave her a smile.

"It's been such a long time," Dom said. "Three years…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "Mia, these are Han, Gisele, Leo and Santos. They're part of the team now. Guys, this is my little sister, Mia."

They all greeted her. Jimmy joined the group while they were introducing themselves, and noticed the happiness radiating from Mia and Jesse. They were all obviously overjoyed to see each other again.

"Dom had said you were pretty, and he wasn't kidding," Gisele smiled at Mia after introductions had been finished.

"Thank you," Mia laughed.

Dom looked around, realizing that someone was missing. "Where's the buster?" he asked gruffly. "Hector said he was still with you."

"Well—"

"Mia!" Suki interrupted her as she walked over to them with little Jack in her arms, not realizing who Mia was talking to and what would happen after the next words came out of her mouth. "Had to bring Jack back to you—he was missing his mommy," she laughed, handing the baby back to Mia.

There was silence for a moment.

Dom's mind was working overdrive to process the information. The Asian woman had said the baby 'missed his mother' before handing him to Mia. That could only mean Mia—his _little sister_ —was a mother. She had a child. She had gotten fucking pregnant! And as he studied the little baby's face, his anger grew as he realized the boy—with his blond hair and blue eyes—looked _just_ like the man who was _supposed_ to _look after his sister_.

"Jesse," Dom said, breaking the silence, his voice cold. "Unless by some miracle that kid is yours, somebody's gonna die."

"Dom," Mia said warningly, noticing the anger in her brother's face. "It's not Jesse's. Calm down. You know it's—"

"It's fucking O'Conner's," Dom growled, finishing for her.

Brian, who had just walked to them while talking to Roman and Tej, overheard the conversation, even though he failed to recognize the voice. "What's mine? … _Oh_ ," he finally looked over to see the crew, led by a very angry Dominic, and his grin dropped. "Shit," he muttered to himself. He forced a smile into his face, feeling very awkward. "Uh… hi, guys?"

Dom's jaw clenched as he saw the man that knocked up his precious little sister. The baby resembled him so damn much that it angered him. He was trying to look as calm as he could, but he knew everyone could tell he wanted to explode. And he wasn't the only one. Vince was glaring daggers at Brian, but the younger man had never been intimidated by Dom's best friend. With Dom, however, it was another story, even though Brian always held his ground around him.

Jack didn't seem bothered by the obvious tension at all. He just smiled and stretched his little arms towards Brian's direction. "Dada!"

There was something about the innocence in Jack's voice that calmed Dom down, and Brian hoped it would stay that way. Dom watched with a critical eye as the blond held his son in his arms. Seeing them together, the resemblance was so fucking obvious. The kid didn't even look like a Toretto at all! But, he tried to remind himself that the kid was his sister's son, hence his nephew. "What's his name?"

"Jack," Brian answered quickly.

"How old is he?"

"One."

Dom's eyes flared, but he forced himself to be calm. "What's his first word?" he questioned, hoping it wouldn't have been 'dad'.

"Car," Brian chuckled.

"He into cars already!" Roman grinned.

"Of course he is," Mia rolled her eyes, and grinned when seeing the faint satisfaction in her brother's face. "With us as parents, it's not surprising, really. He's a Toretto and an O'Conner."

"Yeah," Brian nodded. "By the way—that's Roman, and that's Tej. Guys, if you didn't catch on already, that's Dom, Letty, Leon, and… Vince. Those other guys, I don't know."

Mia introduced her brother's new friends to her boyfriend and friends. "Look, Jack, you have more uncles and aunts now!" she cooed, smiling at her son who squealed in his father's arms.

Dom glared a little, then his face relaxed and he began to talk about the garage and about how they contacted Hector and got to Miami. He didn't seem angry anymore. It was like he did a completely 180. He was calm— _way_ too calm. So calm that everyone knew that something was indeed wrong, even Suki, Roman, Tej, and Jimmy, who had just met Dom; but no-one commented about it. They didn't want to set Dom off.

"He's plannin' something," Letty whispered to Mia. "It's even startin' to freak me out."

Mia nodded, warily eying her brother. "I know."

* * *

Dom kept acting that way until Tej closed the garage and everyone else left. They had spent the time talking, just telling stories about the last three years. But, when only the team was there, Dom decided to take his chance and invited Brian to check his car out. Brian was hesitant, wary of Dom's attitude, his cop training kicking in, but he accepted nonetheless and followed Dom out of the garage. He shouldn't've been surprised when Dom tried to choke him when they were alone outside, considering everything that had happened, but he was still taken off guard.

"What the hell?!" Brian hissed, grabbing Dom's arm with his hand to try and relieve the pressure on his neck.

"You knocked up my sister," Dom replied simply, his calm voice betraying the fury in his eyes.

"Yeah, I did," Brian replied, his cool blue eyes staring right back at Dom. He had known all along Dom would be angry, but he refused to apologize for the existence of his precious son. Instead, he laughed despite the fact the bigger man was slowly choking him. He could see Dom's glare intensifying, but Brian didn't stop as a smirk took over his face. He couldn't stop himself from continuing to egg Dom on, even though the man had a firm hold on his neck and could kill him. After all, Brian always loved danger. "And you know what? I _enjoyed_ doing it—"

All air flew out from Brian as Dom smashed him against the wall of the garage, his hand pressing even harder on his neck to cut the airflow. Brian was trained and he probably had a better fighting technique than Dom, but Dom was much stronger and strength was what mattered in that moment if Brian wanted to get some air in again. "You're dying slowly for that," Dom seethed angrily, his eyes flaring dangerously.

"Dom!" The group had heard the commotion and had come outside to see Dom chocking Brian. Roman, Tej, Jimmy, Jesse, Han, and Leon reacted immediately, pulling Dom away from the blond and dragging him away. "Stop it, Dom!"

"Are you okay?" Mia asked as she rushed to her boyfriend worriedly. She knew her brother was angry, but she hadn't expected him to just attack the man she loved like that.

Brian breathed heavily and nodded. "I'm fine."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Letty ranted as she marched over to Dom.

"What is wrong with me?!" Dom asked incredulously. He pointed to Brian. " _He_ betrayed us! He lied to us all along! And even then I fucking trusted him to look after Mia and Jesse! I came up with bullshit to make this jackass look good and assure everyone he wasn't so bad. He said he would look after Mia and Jesse and he didn't do shit! He fucking _knocked up_ my sister!"

Dom was stunned when Mia slapped him hard in the face. "You're a fucking idiot, Dom," she sneered, looking up angrily at her older brother. "You haven't been around in three years. What do you know whether Brian took care of us or not? What do you know about Jack? Nothing! You don't know a damn thing, Dominic. I'm happy. I'm happy with Brian—we're happy with Jack! Shouldn't that just be enough for you?!"

"You're being a fucking asshole, Dominic," Letty agreed, glaring at her boyfriend. "Didn't you notice the fact that Mia and Jesse are happy? Don't you care that Brian's kid is your own fuckin' nephew?" She pointed to Jack who was being held in Suki's arms. "That baby is your nephew, Dom! He's part of your fuckin' family!"

"After three years, can you really call it a family?" Dom questioned. His anger was blinding him at the moment, and he wasn't thinking straight. He had been hurt when Mia sided with Brian, and he hadn't really thought that Jesse would, too, but it was obvious he saw Brian like an older brother. What he had never expected though, was his team—especially Letty—to side with that backstabber too. "How can you call it a family after they sided with this fucking backstabber?"

"Hey!" Roman cut in, furious at Dom for attacking his best friend. "You don't know shit—"

" _You_ don't know shit!" Dom yelled angrily. Jack began whimpering in fear in Suki's arms, but Dom didn't notice or care at the moment. He couldn't believe that Brian's best friend would have the audacity of commenting what had happened with his family. He hadn't been there in LA, and he was friends with the man who in his eyes destroyed their family. "I'm done. I'm fucking done! I'm out of here."

"Dom!" Mia called, but it was too late—Dom had already gotten into his car and drove off, leaving the stunned and mostly angry group behind.

"Are you really okay, Bri?" Jesse asked his friend worriedly. Dom could've killed him if they hadn't stopped him from continuing to choke him.

"I'm fine," Brian nodded, taking his son from Suki's arms and bouncing him slightly to calm him down. "Hey, buddy. It's okay, it's okay…" Jack seemed to calm down in his father's arms, fisting his little fist on his father's shirt.

"Is Jack okay?" Letty asked worriedly. She had spent less than a day with the kid, but she loved him already. She wasn't sure why, but she guessed because it was Mia's son. Besides, the child was absolutely adorable, and even she couldn't deny it.

"Dom scared him," Brian replied, looking angered. He had expected Dom to be furious, and when he tried to kill him, he hadn't been so surprised. Scaring Jack, however, was where Brian drew the line. It angered Brian that Dom would be like that around his own nephew.

"Oh, poor baby!" Gisele couldn't believe someone would scare a baby like that, especially when it was their relative. Gisele liked Dom, but right now, the motherly instinct she didn't know she had made her feel furious at him. She couldn't understand why Dom wouldn't accept his sister's new family. "Dom is acting like an idiot. He shouldn't have done that."

"He shouldn't, but he did anyways," Han said. "He's got to be pissed as hell to do that."

"Pissed for having a nephew?!" Mia asked, anger in her voice and hurt in her eyes.

"Pissed because the buster knocked you up," Vince replied, his eyes glaring at Brian. He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't happy that Dom attacked Brian, because he was. He still hated Brian, and in his mind he would never like the younger man. He was furious that Brian got her pregnant as well. But, he could see the hurt in Mia's eyes, and had to accept that even though he hated the idea, mothering Brian's kid made Mia happy. However, Dom didn't accept it, and he hurt Mia because of that. Vince was angry because of that. "But, he didn't have the right to do that to you—scare your kid; hurt you."

"He certainly don't!" Suki growled. "And why would he be angry because Brian and Mia had a child together? He has a nephew now—it should be a good thing!"

"It is a good thing," Jesse agreed. "Jack is great!"

"Yeah, dawg, but Dom doesn't think that right now," Leon shook his head.

"Well, he should!" Jimmy argued. "Jack is a great baby, and he's his nephew."

" _Yo que pensaba que esta sería una reunión feliz, y esto pasa_ ," Rico shook his head. ( **I thought this would be a happy reunion, and this happens.** )

Tego glanced at him. " _Era una reunión feliz, hasta que Dom se volvió loco,_ " he muttered. ( **It was a happy reunion, until Dom went crazy.** ) " _A él le gustan los niños, uno pensaría que a él le hubiera gustado tener un sobrino._ " ( **He likes kids; one would think that he would've liked to have a nephew.** )

" _¡Bueno, parece que ese no es el caso!_ " Letty replied angrily. ( **Well, it looks like that's not the case!** ) She loved Dom, but right now, she was furious with him. She couldn't believe he would go and attack Brian, scare Jack, and hurt Mia in the process. This time he went too far. She turned to Mia, looking guilty. "I'm sorry, Mia."

Mia shook her head. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault."

"I feel like I should apologize anyways," Letty said. "'Cause we sure as hell don't know if Dom will."

"Well, he better apologize!" Roman replied.

Tej nodded in agreement. "Yeah. If he thinks he can come here and attack my friend, then he's _greatly_ mistaken."

"Dom can go crazy when he's angry," Mia muttered, feeling guilty and stupid for not thinking about it before. "I don't even know why I'm surprised. I had thought he'd be happy for me…" she sighed.

"He'll come around," Letty comforted, wrapping an arm around Mia's shoulders. "If he doesn't do it on his own, then I'll make him."

Mia laughed slightly, cheering up a little. "Thanks, Letty."

"Well, since Dom is being a fuckin' idiot right now, then I guess we'll just have to keep up this reunion without him," Letty proclaimed. "That is—if you don't mind?" she asked Brian. After being attacked by Dom, she could understand if he didn't want them around anymore.

Brian shook his head. "I don't. I was kind of expecting that, anyways. It's fine," he said, trying to keep the anger he felt off his voice. He was currently pissed off at Dom, but that feeling didn't carry over to the rest of the crew. They had actually defended him, and he was glad for that.

Jesse cheered. "Awesome! Let's get this party going then!"

* * *

Dom took a deep breath as he drove back to Tej's. He had spent the whole time racing around the city, trying to cool off. He felt bad about storming off like that—but, shit, he had been so damn angry! He couldn't believe Brian would knock up his sister and then _rub it_ in his face. That was his baby sister—how could he not be angry? But, he had to admit he had over-reacted. It took a lot of cooling off to notice it, but he did. He knew he must've hurt his sister during his tantrum as well, and he didn't want that.

There was a part of him that said she had it coming—after all, _she_ hurt _him_ when she chose Brian over him. He quickly shoved that thought into the back of his head though. He didn't have the right to hurt Mia, especially since he wanted to reconnect with her.

And Letty had been right—whether he wanted or not, Jack was his nephew.

Jack O'Conner was his nephew.

He was family.

And Dom had to accept that.

What would his father say if he was still alive and had seen what had happened? He would've been disappointed, and Dom didn't want to continue doing that. He probably disappointed him when he went to jail, began street racing, and when he pulled off all those heists. He had to at least make his father proud somehow. Accepting his nephew could be that how.

Besides, he figured it'd be good for the kid if Uncle Dom was around. He still didn't trust Brian enough, and it wouldn't be good if the only male parental figure was him.

Uncle Dom… He'd never thought he'd ever take that role so suddenly, but he was accepting it now.

All he had to do now was to come back and apologize, but he wasn't stupid. He knew it wouldn't be easy. So, when he pulled over at Tej's, he took in a deep breath, as if to prepare himself once again for the meeting that was going to occur, and got out of his car. The door was open, and as he entered the building, he heard a laugh—a baby's laugh.

It was Jack laughing.

Dom was immediately reminded of when his sister was a baby herself and laughed. He loved hearing her laugh, and spent all day trying to make his sister let out that happy sound. Now he was feeling the same thing again, but for the baby that he didn't want to accept a few hours ago.

He was a fucking fool.

No-one noticed him come in, and he wasn't sure if he should just interrupt the scene. Everyone was sitting on the floor, and Brian had little Jack in his arms. Everyone were taking turns at making the baby laugh, and Dom found himself wanting to make the kid laugh himself—just like when Mia was a baby. He smiled when seeing Letty make funny faces to make his nephew laugh. It wasn't like her to like children so much, so soon, but she obviously adored Jack already. The kid had charm.

It had to be the Toretto charm, Dom told himself.

Deciding to make his presence known, Dom cleared his throat, making everyone to look at him. The look on their faces was not exactly welcoming. The only person who didn't seem mad was Vince, but Dom knew that was only because he hated Brian. "Uh… hey," Dom greeted awkwardly, smiling sheepishly.

He was greeted by silence until Brian broke it. "What are you doing here?" he asked, holding Jack protectively. He was still furious at Dom—the man tried to kill him, scared his son, and hurt his girlfriend—and he didn't want to deal with more drama. He had actually been having fun with the team.

Dom glared at Brian, still not happy with the blond, but he understood he had crossed a line. "I came to apologize," he said gruffly, swallowing his pride.

"Apologize?" Tej laughed humorlessly. "You come here to my garage and attack my friend, storm off, and then come back like this was your place? Well, if you think that, then lemme tell you that you're wrong—"

"I know this ain't my garage," Dom replied. "But, I have the right to talk to my family."

"You denied they were your family a few hours ago!" Roman argued.

"I wasn't thinkin' straight—"

"Well, you damn should've!" Suki scolded. "You even scared little Jack!"

Dom hadn't expected that. "I… what?"

"You scared the shit out of Jack when you had your little tantrum," Brian explained, glaring at his son's uncle.

Dom felt the guilt rising in his chest as he watched his nephew in his father's arms. The kid had stopped laughing and was clutching to Brian like his life depended on it. He hadn't realized he'd scared Jack so much. "I didn't think I'd scare him."

"Well, you damn did!" Brian replied. "You scared your own nephew, Dom. But, I guess he isn't your nephew in your world because he's my son," he said harshly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Why are you even here if he's not your family?"

"As I said, I wasn't thinking straight," Dom said.

"Damage is still done," the blond sneered. "I kinda expected you to try and kill me, but you hurt Mia and scared Jack. That was crossing the line. You should leave now."

"Brian!" Mia hissed. She understood where her boyfriend was coming from, but she didn't want her brother to leave again. "Maybe we should listen to him. He said he wanted to apologize," she turned to her brother. "Right?"

"Yeah," Dom nodded.

"Well, you're damn right you should want to apologize!" Letty exclaimed angrily as she marched to Dom. "What the hell were you thinkin', Dom?!"

"I wasn't thinking straight," Dom said a third time.

"Damn fuckin' right you weren't! You were actin' like such a _pendejo_!" Letty snapped.

"I know I was," Dom sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Wrong person you're apologizing to," Letty pointed to Mia. "You need to apologize to Mia."

"I'm sorry, Mia," Dom said. "I really am."

"I can't believe you, Dom," Mia shook her head and sighed. "I'm still angry, but we all know I forgive you."

"I'm glad," Dom smiled.

"You're not done yet," Letty said and pointed to Brian. "You need to apologize to Brian, too." She saw Dom clench his jaw and she narrowed her eyes. "Dom," she warned.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, glancing at Brian. "Sorry, O'Conner."

It sounded forced, and it probably was, and Brian noticed immediately. "Sure, whatever," he shrugged. "I knew something like this would happen."

"This doesn't mean I'm happy you knocked up my sister."

"This doesn't mean I'm happy you pulled that shit earlier today."

"Whatever," Dom crossed his arms. "Is Jack fine now?"

"Yeah, he is," Brian nodded, smiling down at his son. His son could always cheer him up.

"I didn't mean to scare him," Dom admitted. "Is there still a chance for me to be Uncle Dom?"

The whole team stared at Dom, but then a smile broke out of Mia's face. "There's always been a chance for you to be Uncle Dom. The only thing you have to do is to be here—and accept things as they are."

"I'm here, and I'll try," Dom nodded, looking at his nephew. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt some adoration for the kid he hadn't had before. That was his nephew. His family. He wasn't going to turn his back on him. Never again. "I wanna fix things. I wanna be a family again."

"We can, now that we're all here," Mia nodded. "We just need time, but we'll get there." She smiled at everyone in the room. "We're gonna be a family, all of us together."

* * *

They stayed at the garage talking some more, but this time Dom was with them. Roman, Tej, Suki, and Jimmy had silently agreed to keep an eye on the man. Dom's team was disappointed at how he'd reacted, and they let him know that, but they forgave him quickly enough because they knew he was genuinely sorry. Brian was still angry, but he tried to do his best to forgive Dom himself, for Mia and Jack's sake. Dom spent most of the time trying to bond with Jack, who still seemed a bit scared of his uncle. Dom was a bit upset about that, but he guessed he deserved it. Brian and Mia said Jack would open up to him soon enough, which was what he hoped.

When Jack dozed off, everyone decided to leave the garage to go home. It was then when they realized that Dom and the team had no place to stay.

"We have one guest room back home," Brian said.

"I could share with Leon," Jesse shrugged. "There's enough place."

"I'm down for that!" Leon cheered, bumping firsts with the grinning Jesse.

"You and Letty could share the guest room," Mia told Dom. "That way you can spend more time with Jack." She'd seen her brother trying to bond with her son, and she wanted that to happen.

Dom nodded. "Alright."

"There's a cot up in the garage," Tej said. "Someone could sleep there."

" _¡Nosotros!_ " Tego said quickly. ( **Us!** ) " _No tengo ganas de irme a ningún lado. Estoy cansado, prefiero irme a dormir ahora acá._ " ( **I don't want to go anywhere. I'm tired; I'd rather go to sleep here now.** )

" _Lo que él dijo,_ " Rico shrugged. ( **What he said.** )

"A'ight, sure," Tej nodded.

"I have a free room at home, too," Suki said.

"We'll go there," Han said. "If you don't mind, I mean."

"Of course not," Suki smiled.

Gisele smiled back. "Okay, sure."

"What about me?" Vince asked gruffly.

"Ain't no way I'm sharin' my place with you!" Roman snapped.

"Didn't want to anyways," Vince refuted.

"Uh, you can sleep on the couch at our place," Brian shrugged. "That's the best I can offer you."

"Fuck you," Vince glared at the blond. Brian took his girl, he took what could've been his kid, now he took his bed too? It wasn't God damn fair!

"Vince!" Mia snapped.

"Fine," Vince sighed, not being able to contradict Mia. He didn't want to upset her. "Let's just go."

They bid goodnight to each other and went home. Dom, Letty, Leon, and Vince followed as Mia, Brian, and Jesse walked in front of them, Brian pushing Jack's stroller. The four watched as the trio talked casually about having to buy more food and setting up the couch for Vince. It was obvious the three of them were close—they had been going around together for three years—and it was unsettling to see them like that. It was like a reminder that nothing would ever be the same.

They followed the trio inside the house, Dom raising an eyebrow as he saw the Skyline and the Evo parked outside. He decided he had a lot to teach Jack, mainly about American Muscle and how imports weren't nearly as good. Obviously, his father wouldn't do that.

"So, you'll be sleeping here," Mia said, opening the door to the guest room with Dom and Letty behind her. Jesse was showing Leon his room and Brian was putting Jack down to sleep. Vince stayed back where the couch was, trying to come in terms with the fact he'd have to sleep there. "Is this good enough?"

"It's perfect," Letty smiled. "Thanks, Mia."

"It's not a problem," she shrugged. "I have to get some sheets and a pillow for Vince. Make yourself at home. You had one long trip—you deserve some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay," Dom nodded. He walked over to his sister and hugged her. "Goodnight, Mia."

"Goodnight, Dom," Mia replied, smiling at the familiarity of the embrace. She had missed that so much. "Sleep well."

After giving Vince sheets and a pillow, and making sure Leon and Jesse were comfortable in the same room, Mia went to her and Brian's bedroom. Brian was already in there, taking his shirt off to go to bed. Mia got out of her clothes and into one of Brian's shirts that she usually wore to sleep. They both got into bed, tired from the long, unexpected events that happened in the day.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mia asked Brian worriedly.

"I'm fine," Brian assured her. "I knew Dom would be pissed. It wasn't such a surprise."

"I didn't think he'd attack you," Mia said, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, baby," Brian told her. "You aren't at fault of your brother's actions."

"I guess," she mumbled. "I spent so long wishing this day would come, and it went so different from what I'd imagined."

"At least they're here," Brian said and kissed her forehead. "We'll work this out."

"Yeah…" Mia yawned. "We have a long day in front of us."

"Don't remind me."

Mia giggled and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied sleepily. "Now let's sleep…"

Mia nodded. "Yeah… goodnight."

"Night."


	10. Tensions and Conversations

Dom woke up, and the first thing he noticed was that he was in an unfamiliar room. He blinked in confusion, wondering where he was, and then it all came back to him. He was in Miami, at his sister's new house. He had seen his sister, Jesse, and Brian yesterday after three years. He also found out he had a nephew, which pissed him off, but now he found himself wanting to bond with the kid. Thankfully, his sister had given him another chance, and now there he was.

He glanced at his side, and saw his girlfriend sleeping peacefully. He didn't want to wake up Letty—she deserved to sleep—so he got out of bed carefully. He put on some clothes and opened the door. He glanced around the hallway. Jesse's door was closed, but Brian and Mia's door and Jack's door were both open. That would mean Brian and Mia were awake, and so was Jack.

He went downstairs and into the living room to see Vince sleeping soundly on the couch. He chuckled at the sight and glanced around in search of the others. While searching, he saw some pictures up on the walls. He walked to them in curiosity. He hadn't noticed those pictures last night, but he had been too tired to even take an interest in them.

There was a picture of Brian and Mia, and a picture of them with Jesse. There was another one of the three of them but with Roman, Tej, Suki, and Jimmy in it too. He couldn't help but notice the slight bump Mia had in that picture—it wasn't too visible, but he saw it anyway. There was a picture of Jack as a newborn with his parents, and other one of the whole group with Jack in his father's arms. There was an old picture of Brian and Roman—they looked about twelve in it. There was another picture of a teenage Brian with a woman that Dom guessed it was his mother. There was another of Brian, Jack, and some guy that looked in his late forties that Dom couldn't recognize. He smiled when he saw a picture of Jesse with his father before the latter was sent to prison.

What surprised him was a picture of Mia, Jesse, Dom, Letty, Vince, and Leon. It was taken during one of their usual Sunday barbecues, shortly before Brian came into the picture. They were all grinning, not aware of what would happen in the future—how it would all go to hell and that they'd have to run. They looked happy. But, that wasn't the only picture of the team they had. There was a picture of Mia and Dom with their father. There was another picture of Dom, Vince, Letty and Mia when they were younger. There was also one of Jesse and Leon before they joined Dom's team.

Dom hadn't seen those pictures in three years, and he felt touched that his sister and friend took them along with them when they went on the run. It felt like they had honestly never forgotten about them—like they still thought they were family. Maybe they still did. After all, they let them all stay with them.

It was while he was looking at the pictures, deep in thought, when he noticed the smell of bacon and eggs. His stomach rumbled, and he followed the smell to a half-open door. He looked into the kitchen and saw Brian, Mia, Jesse, and Jack. Brian and Mia were cooking together, while Jesse fed Jack his bottle. The three adults were talking lowly, as if trying not to wake up the sleeping Vince.

They looked so content and natural together. They were a family of their own now. Dom wasn't sure how much things had changed, but it definitely wasn't the same. He wanted to find out though. Obviously, this was what a usual morning was like for them—well, kind of. There was much more food than for three people—they were cooking breakfast for the team, too. It wouldn't be the same for them, either, Dom realized. Their presence would change things for them, and they would have to get used to the differences together.

"We need to go to the market," Mia said to Brian. "There's not gonna be enough food for everyone. We're lucky if it last for another day or two."

Brian nodded. "Yeah, there's definitely more mouths to feed now."

"Good morning," Dom greeted as he entered the kitchen, making his presence known.

"Good morning, Dom!" Jesse chipped.

"Hey, Jesse," Dom grinned.

Brian glanced at Dom. "Mornin'." Dom just nodded at his direction, and then a thought popped into his head. There was something he thought he should tell Mia—something that happened yesterday—but he figured it'd be better if it was when they were alone. No-one knew how his sister would react.

Mia smiled at her brother. "Good morning! How did you sleep?"

"Great," Dom replied with a smile. "Thanks, Mia."

"No problem."

"Hey, Jack," Dom smiled at his nephew. Jack just looked back at him, his blue eyes gazing to his face in wonder. He still didn't really react to Dom, but at least he didn't seem scared anymore. Dom was sure the kid would open up around him in time. "So, I heard something about goin' to the market. I could go myself and pay for stuff. I've got money."

"Uh, no, that won't be necessary," Mia shook her head. "Don't worry about it. You're our guests."

"Unexpected guests," Dom said. "I don't mind buyin' food myself. It's the least I can do after accepting me here. Besides, we're not few people."

"You're all family," Mia refuted. "But, if you insist, then I guess I can't deny that offer," she grinned cheekily. "Do you mind waking the others up? Breakfast is almost done."

"Alright," Dom nodded, glancing around the room. "But, first, mind if I have a word with you, Mia?"

"Um," her eyes flicked to Brian who just shrugged. "Sure." She followed her brother into the living room. It was like he wanted to tell her a big secret or something. "What is it, Dom?"

"I just thought I should tell you something that Brian said yesterday."

"Brian?" Mia frowned. She couldn't remember a moment where her boyfriend and her brother actually had a conversation. "What did he say?"

"It was about you."

"About me?"

"He said…" He clenched his fists. It still angered him to think about it. "He said that he enjoyed making your baby and that he…" he gritted his teeth. This was awkward as hell for him. "…liked to watch you… well… watch… you know."

"Oh, _that_ ," Mia shook her head. "Yeah, I know."

"You know?"

"He told me."

"And you're not angry or offended or whatever?!"

Mia gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Nah. I'm not particularly _happy_ about it, but I'm not mad. I mean, if he had kept it a secret, I would've been pissed. Not because of what he _said_ about me, exactly, but because he kept something from me. Since, you know, he lied when he was undercover, we agreed that we should be honest if we wanted our relationship to survive so we don't really have secrets—at least not that involve us. So, uh, he told me about it when we woke up."

Dom hadn't expected that reaction. He expected fireworks or something. But, he also hadn't expected Brian to come clean about that. Still, he wasn't exactly happy about his sister's chill reaction of it. "Shit, Mia, even if he told you, he shouldn't have said that. That was disrespectful."

Mia's eyebrows rose. "Since when you're of high class?"

"Since it's my little sister he was sayin' that stuff about."

"Oh, come on, Dom. I'm not even upset about it. Lay off him. You'd be a complete liar if you don't say things like that to your friends. Or are you saying that you and the boys _never_ talked about it even after you began dating Letty?" Mia knew she was right when Dom pursed his lips. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Besides, he wasn't lying." She smirked. "I enjoyed making Jack, too, and—"

"I do not need to hear it!" Dom snapped, raising his voice enough to wake the sleeping Vince up. He had forgotten his best friend was in that same room.

"What the hell?" Vince hissed, not happy that he was woken up.

"Breakfast will be ready soon. Get up and please wake Letty and Leon while you're at it," Mia told him with a sugary sweet smile as she turned around and went into the kitchen, leaving an unhappy Dom behind. After _years_ of having to listen to girls talk about her brother in a sexual way, Mia couldn't be prouder in how she took her revenge against him. Now he knew what it was like, and they could probably both agree that it was _not_ fun.

* * *

After a bit awkward breakfast, they all went to Tej's Garage. Dom and the team learned that Brian and Jesse worked there and that they all spent a lot of time there—either actually working or just hanging out with the others. They took Jack along as well. Dom didn't think a garage was the best place for a baby, but he realized that there was always someone watching the kid. Roman, Tej, Suki, and Jimmy obviously adored the child, and they all took turns in looking after him.

He also noticed that those other people that hung around also seemed to like Jack as well. More than once a random person walked up to them and tried to make Jack laugh, commenting on how much he'd grown, that he was adorable, that he looked a lot like his father and things like that. Dom figured those must be regular customers or people who often came by to have fun. After all, Tej's Garage was like a party in itself.

Something that made him very proud, though, was the fact that he noticed Jack liked to watch people work on cars. He was grinning as his blue eyes watched Brian and Roman work on a Subaru. Of course he was. The Toretto blood was running in him. It was weird, but Dom felt prouder of Jack as he spent more time with him. And he only met the kid the day before!

"There aren't so many muscle cars around here," Dom commented to Tej.

Tej gave him a side glance. "Not today, man. I guess American Muscle drivers didn't feel like showin' up today."

"But, there _are_ American Muscles around, right?"

"Of course there are," Tej rolled his eyes. "We have everything in Miami."

"Everything?" Dom chorused. "You definitely haven't been in LA then."

"And you definitely haven't seen all of Miami yet."

"Are you guys seriously fightin' over whether Miami or LA is better?" Brian asked as he slid from underneath the Subaru he was working on. Roman had ran off when he had seen a girl that got his attention, so Brian ended up working on the Subaru alone. The question was directed to both of them, but he only looked at Tej. There was still tension between Dom and Brian.

"You have a problem with that?" Dom snapped.

"Uh, no," Brian said as he wiped his hands clean with a rag. "But, it's kinda ridiculous to be honest."

"Well, you've been in both LA and Miami," Tej said. "Which one is better?"

"Oh, no, forget it," Brian shook his head. "You're not making me join this stupid argument."

"What—you're scared?" Dom taunted, and Brian glanced at him.

"The hell would I be scared about?"

"Oh, I don't know. About upsettin' your friend when you tell him LA is better."

"The one he'll be upsettin' will be you when he tells you Miami is the better place," Tej shot back.

Brian sighed in exasperation. "I told you I ain't gonna be part of this argument—"

"Hey, what's going on here?" Mia asked as she walked to them with Jack in her arms.

"Thank God!" Brian exclaimed gleefully. Mia was always the voice of reason and he was sure she'd stop the pointless argument between Tej and Dom. "They're fighting over whether Miami or LA's better," he explained as he took Jack from her arms once the child began to hold his arms out toward him.

"Seriously, guys?" Mia put her hands on her hips as she glared at her brother and friend. "That's stupid. Miami is not better than LA, and LA is not better than Miami. It depends on what people think. There, argument solved."

Brian gave Mia a high-five. "Thanks, voice of reason," he grinned.

"It's what I do," Mia shrugged with a laugh.

* * *

Vince stared at Jack—who was sitting happily in his mother's arms—for a long moment. He watched as he giggled, and frowned. He wasn't amused by the baby's laugh. He was never amused by his laugh. Instead, he resented it. He resented Jack, because he looked so much like _him_. The kid looked just like the man he hated—the buster that betrayed them, destroyed their family, and yet—somehow—he still got his girl. Even though Vince had started to move on, he absolutely hated that Brian was the one who got to father Mia's child instead of him.

He'd always known life wasn't fair, but, shit, _this_ unfair?

"That brat looks so much like the buster," he muttered to himself.

Roman—who overheard the comment—smirked. "Well, he was never gonna look like you, was he?" he asked. He wasn't a fan of Vince. The man was obviously jealous of Brian, and Roman did not appreciate the older man's attempts to diss his best friend. It wasn't the first time they didn't agree on something. The two had arguments or even fights during the last few days, showing that they obviously didn't get along.

Vince sneered at Roman. "I wondered how long it'd be before the lap-bitch sprung to his man-crush's defense."

Roman's nostrils flared in anger. He wanted nothing more than to punch Vince, but he knew Jack was in the room and he didn't want to scare his best friend's son. He always made sure Jack wasn't around when he fought with Vince. "You just jealous," he snarled. "You just jealous that Brian's the one to get Mia and tap that—"

Vince growled and sprung from the chair he was sitting on to push Roman in anger. "Shut the fuck up!"

"What? Can't take the truth?!" Roman questioned, pushing Vince back.

"I told you to keep your mouth shut, you faggot—"

"Vince! Roman!" Mia shouted as she glared at the two. She marched towards them angrily. She was tired of their fighting. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What happens is that he can't take that Brian's your boyfriend!" Roman exclaimed, glaring at Vince. "He can't accept that he's jealous."

"Shut up," Vince said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry to tell you, but the truth hurts, bro!" Roman exclaimed. "And the truth is we all know you're never gonna be Mia's man. You can only watch Mia be with my homeboy, and the only way for you to deal with it is tryin' to diss my best friend every single chance you've got. And lemme tell you, it ain't workin'!"

Vince snarled. "Shut up!"

"Vince!" Mia snapped, but then her eyes softened. "We need to talk." She turned to Roman. "Could you take Jack, Rome?"

"Sure thing, Mia," Roman replied, eyeing Vince. "I'll make sure my nephew's well taken care of." He grinned at the child as he took him into his arms. "Right, Jack? You ain't gonna have to deal with this pathetic excuse of a guy anymore. Momma's takin' care of it."

Vince snarled in anger, but Roman was already walking away with the baby. It wasn't enough that he had to deal with O'Conner—he had to deal with his friends, too, especially with that asshole he called his best friend. "That fucker," he growled. "No wonder he and the buster get along so well."

"Vince, stop it!" Mia ordered. "Listen to me," she said, her voice softening. "I know why you're upset, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I've hurt you, Vince. But, you have to understand—I love Brian. I loved him back then and I love him now. I'm really happy with him and Jack. I'm not saying that I'm not happy that you're all here, because I am, but I don't regret the choice I made that day."

"Of course you don't," Vince muttered. "You've got pretty boy blondie to get between your legs."

Mia's eyes widened in shock, anger, and hurt. She had never, _ever_ , expected Vince to say something like that—especially not about her. "Vince—"

"Save it, Mia," Vince snapped moodily. "The sex must be too good for you to choose him over your family. Whatever. I don't care. Be happy with him and your kid."

He walked away, leaving the shocked Mia behind. Usually he wouldn't say such things to her, but he was moody lately and not having a good day. Not to mention he was still hurt over Mia's choice. The fact she had a child with the buster felt like they were making fun of him and his feelings. He had tried to be with her for so long, and failed. Then the buster showed up, and in a few weeks he already had Mia. Then, after he went and fucked all up, he _still_ managed to get Mia and had a child with her. It wasn't fucking fair.

He was tired of being the one who always lost.

* * *

When Dom returned from the market to his sister's home, he was greeted by the sight of a clearly upset Mia telling something to Brian. Dom couldn't hear what she said, but whatever it was, it obviously made Brian furious. He left the groceries on the kitchen counter and then walked to Brian and Mia. Jack—who was sitting in his play pin—looked up at him in confusion, not being able to decipher why his parents were that way. Dom didn't know either, but he intended to find out.

Dom raised an eyebrow when he heard Brian mutter threats about Vince. So, he guessed it was something to do with him, but what? "What's goin' on?"

"What's goin' on is that you should keep your attack dog back to its fuckin' chain," Brian sneered angrily.

"Attack dog?" Dom frowned. It wasn't hard to decipher he was talking about Vince, even if he hadn't heard Brian mutter about him before. "What did Vince do now? Did he say anything to you?" There was sarcasm in the last question.

Brian snorted. "I couldn't care less about what that dick thinks or says about me. It's what he said to your sister that crossed the line."

"What did he say, Mia?" Dom questioned, looking to his sister. She looked so upset—Dom couldn't believe that he hadn't deduced Vince had said something to _her_. Obviously, it was something bad. Mia didn't get upset that easily. (He knew that from before, but he'd confirmed it when Mia didn't seem bothered by what Brian had said to him when he chocked him.) But, Dom hadn't thought Vince would say something to hurt Mia. He cared too much for her to do so.

Mia took a deep breath and told him what Vince had said to her. Dom was furious about what he had said—to _his sister_! He understood where Vince was coming from, but this time he had gone too far. It was even worse of what Brian had said when he was being chocked. Even though the blond had hinted about when Jack was conceived, he _never_ hinted that Mia would choose sex over the people she cared about. And it obviously angered him that someone would think of Mia like that. It angered Dom, too. The big brother in him was ready to go to Vince and give him a piece of his mind.

"I didn't think I'd hurt him so much for him to say such things…" Mia said softly.

"He didn't have the right to say that to you," Brian said angrily. He cupped her face with his hands. "The choice you made that day, he's got to accept it, whether he likes it or not. Don't feel guilty for choosing what you wanted."

"He's right," Dom agreed, shocking both Brian and Mia. They never thought Dom of all people would support the choice Mia made three years ago. "Vince must be fuckin' pissed to say such things. Don't worry—I'll deal with him."

"You sure?" Brian asked. "I'm the one dating Mia—I should be the one dealing with him."

"He wouldn't listen to you," Dom said. "He hates you."

"No shit," Brian remarked. "Seriously, though, I could—"

"No, I'll do it," Dom shook his head. "Just stay here with Mia. I'll talk some sense into him. No-one says such things to my sister and gets away with it." He glared at the blond. "You just got lucky," he added, referring to Brian's comments that first night they'd arrived. Brian didn't say anything, but his gaze didn't drift away from Dom's glare.

He'd been pissed and was being chocked when he had said that, but when he was calm again he realized he shouldn't have done so and came clean about it. Brian had promised himself that he'd always tell his girlfriend the truth even if it was easier to just lie or hide it. Mia wasn't really happy about his comment, and she'd punched him so hard that his arm was sore all that morning, but she'd forgiven him quickly enough. Neither of them wanted something to end the relationship they'd built together after everything they've gone through. They always forgave each other, because they loved each other and they were always honest.

"Thanks, Dom," Mia said softly, thankful of having her brother's support. After three years without it, she hadn't realized how much it meant to her to have it.

"It's not a problem."

* * *

Vince sighed as he watched the Jet Ski races. He wasn't even paying attention to those, instead thinking of what he had said to Mia. He hadn't _meant_ it, but he had been pissed and didn't think. He had really been angry and hurt and he spoke without thinking about it first. He knew he hurt Mia's feelings with his comments, which sickened him. How could _he_ be the one to hurt Mia? His guilt was eating away at him, but he didn't know how to go and apologize.

He glared over at Tej once he felt the man's eyes on him _again_. He didn't like the way the buster's friends were keeping an eye on them all. He didn't like them at all—especially not Roman—so he wasn't really happy about being in Tej's Garage, but he didn't know where else to go. He didn't really know Miami, even though they'd been there for some few days already, and up to this point, he was used to staying in known places in case an emergency would occur and he and the team would have to bolt.

Even though that wasn't even necessary now, apparently.

"Vince," a deep voice called and Vince almost groaned when he heard his best friend. He didn't mind Dom, but right now, he wanted to be alone.

"What, Dom?"

"We need to talk."

The way Dom said it made Vince's stomach clench. Shit. Dom knew. He wasn't surprised—he was Mia's brother—but he hadn't expected to have to deal with Dom so soon and he really didn't feel like talking. "I'm sure Mia told you everything already."

"She did," Dom nodded, sitting next to Vince. "I should be fuckin' punching you right now for sayin' those things to her. You really upset her."

Vince felt his guilt increase, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he just sighed. "I didn't mean it," he mumbled.

"I know you didn't," Dom said. "You were angry. I understand. I was angry, too. I mean, I tried to fucking kill O'Conner."

Vince's mouth twitched upwards into a smile. "Best thing I've seen in a while."

Dom glanced at his childhood friend. It was obvious he didn't like Brian, and he'd probably never get along with him. "But, it was wrong. I shouldn't've done that." He'd done some thinking lately, and he realized that attacking Brian wasn't exactly the best way to go. It didn't mean he was happy with what the blond had done, but Mia still loved him and by now Dom was sure she'd always be on Bran's side. He was her family, which meant—much to Dom's disdain—that he was part of Dom's family, too. "No matter what we think of Brian, he's part of the family now."

Vince sneered. "I'll never accept that buster as family—"

"He's my nephew's father, and my sister loves him. That alone makes him part of this family. I hate to say this, but he's been taking care of Mia and Jesse like he said he would."

"And he knocked up your sister."

"And I have a nephew now," Dom added. He still wasn't happy with Brian, but he definitely was with Jack. "I was furious when I found out, but now, I want to be the best uncle I can be."

"What's with the change of heart?" Vince questioned. "That night when we arrived you went from unaccepting to wanting to be a part of the kid's life."

"I cooled down and thought about the situation. I realized that Jack is innocent, and that Mia is happy. Besides, Jack reminds me of Mia when she was a baby."

"Well, it's her kid," Vince smiled, but it disappeared from his face as soon as it came. "And the buster's…"

"We have to accept him, Vince," Dom said, not too crazy about the idea but knowing they had to for his sister's sake. "And you have to apologize to Mia for all the shit you said. If you don't, I swear I will knock you down."

Vince sighed deeply and nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to her."

Dom nodded. "You better."

* * *

"I am never having kids!" Letty announced loudly. She, Gisele, Suki, and Mia were sitting in the kitchen of Mia's house, and somehow their conversation went to the topic of motherhood. So far, Letty didn't really like what she had heard.

"Why not?!" Suki questioned. "Having a baby would be so cool! I've been trying to convince Tej for months."

"I don't want a kid now, but I definitely would in the future," Gisele said. "I don't see what the problem is for you, Letty. I mean, I can understand why not now—but maybe some years from now. Why don't you want to?"

"Uh… painful labor? Screaming babies all night?" Letty scrunched up her face. "No, thank you."

"It's not so bad," Mia said. "Trust me; it's all worth it in the end."

"Is it?"

"Of course!" Mia nodded. "I love being a mom and I love my family. Raising Jack has been like an adventure in itself and Brian and I have learned a lot together."

"I can picture you as a mom, but the buster never struck me as the fatherly type," Letty commented. "It's kind of weird seeing him with Jack."

"It's been hard for Brian," Mia admitted. "But, even though he's had a lot of trouble getting used to this life, he's been with me every single step of the way. He always helped me when I was pregnant and he held my hand all the time during labor. We've been raising Jack together and we're happy. He made me and Jack his first priority since the very beginning and I love him for that."

"I'm a witness to that," Suki agreed. "Brian's a good dad."

Letty shrugged. "I guess," she said, and then she turned to Mia. "I have no idea how you two worked out—but," she paused, smiling at her friend, "it's obvious he makes you happy and I'll always be glad for that."

Mia's smile brightened. "He really does."

It was then when Vince walked into the kitchen. The four girls looked over at him; Letty with disinterest, Suki with a glare, Gisele in curiosity, and Mia with hurt eyes. He flinched slightly at the hurt he caused her, and knew he couldn't stall any longer. "Mia, I need to talk to you," he said. " _Alone_ ," he added, glancing particularly at Suki who didn't look happy. Obviously, Mia hadn't told the girls what had happened, because if she had had, Letty would've killed him on sight, and Gisele would have given him a speech. Suki just didn't like him because she was Brian's friend, and he obviously didn't like Brian.

Letty gave him a questioning look, but she didn't complain as she stood up from the table. "Come on, girls," Letty said, glancing at Mia for a bit, noticing that she was upset. "Let's let them talk."

"Sure," Gisele shrugged, standing up as well.

Letty noticed Suki didn't move and sighed. "Suki, let's go."

Suki glared at Vince a little more before nodding. "Okay."

Once the three women left, Mia glared up at Vince to cover up her hurt. "What do you want, Vince?"

"I want to apologize," Vince explained. "I'm sorry, Mia. I was just so pissed off—I spoke without thinking."

Mia knew Vince ever since she was about two, so she knew that he was really swallowing his pride to apologize. It moved her that he was actually willing to do so. "Apology accepted," she replied, smiling slightly. "And I'm sorry, too. For hurting you—"

"Don't, Mia," Vince waved her apology off. "You don't have to be sorry. I hate that you're with the buster, but I'll accept him if he makes you happy—doesn't mean I stopped hating him, though."

"Accepting him is a start," Mia shrugged. "I hope you two get along in the future, though."

"Not gonna happen," was Vince's immediate reply.

* * *

"Who is this guy?" Dom questioned, looking at the picture of Brian and Jack with the man in his forties. He had seen it the morning after he and the team arrived to Miami, but only now he really took an interest in it. That man was the only person—other than Brian's mom—that he didn't know. He'd say it was Brian's dad, but he didn't think it was that exactly. Brian didn't really resemble the man.

"Hmm?" Brian looked up to Dom's direction. The relationship between him and Dom was still very strained, but they actually managed to be civil and have actual conversations when there was people around. Mia and Letty had gone out with Suki, Gisele and Han were on a date, Tego and Rico were somewhere looking for something fun to do, and Roman, Tej, and Jimmy were working at the garage—Tej let Brian off the clock so that he could watch Jack while Mia went out—so Dom and his boys were the only ones in the house with him. There was still tension, but not nearly as much as there had been when they'd first arrived. They were trying to act as it wasn't there, just to avoid having a fight.

"The guy in the picture with you and Jack," Dom explained gruffly, signalizing to the picture. "Who is he?"

"Oh, that's just Tanner," Brian shrugged.

"Tanner?" Dom repeated. He had never heard of him before. "And who is this Tanner?"

Brian shrugged again. "He's a sergeant of the LAPD that—"

"Sergeant?!" Vince questioned angrily. "You're still in contact with cops?!"

"I thought you weren't a cop anymore," Dom said to Brian gravelly.

"I'm not," Brian replied.

"Then why you have a picture with a LAPD sergeant?"

"Because he still talks to cops!" Vince replied in anger.

"Uh, no," Brian rolled his eyes. "I would've explained already but you just went and assumed the worst before I could finish."

"So you're really not working for the cops anymore?" Leon asked.

"No," the blond replied. "As I was saying, that's a LAPD sergeant that I met when I transferred. He was literally the only guy in the LAPD I actually cared about. He was the closest thing I ever had to a father, too, so when I got clean records and found out Mia was pregnant I decided to call him. He was also working on the Toretto case and he was pissed at me for fuckin' it up, but then he forgave me and we began talkin'. He comes to visit every now and then. He's like the closest thing Jack has to a grandparent."

"He's actually pretty nice," Jesse commented. "A good thing about him; when he's off the clock, he's off the clock. And since he's on vacation whenever he comes here, he doesn't really do shit about the racing scene."

"I think Tanner has had enough of racing scenes already," Brian chuckled.

"He's still a cop," Vince muttered.

"But, we've got clean records now," Leon reminded him.

"Yeah, it's not a problem," Jesse shrugged.

Dom couldn't disagree with that, even though he couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about it all. He accepted it though. He was curious about something else. "Brian, you said this cop is the closest thing Jack has to a grandparent," he said. "My parents are dead—you know that—but what about yours?"

"Mom's dead," Brian said quietly. He pointed to the picture of him and his mother. "That was one of the last pictures of us together before she died."

So, Dom was right when he deduced that the woman in the picture was Brian's mother. But, he didn't mention someone else. "What about your dad?"

Brian frowned slightly. He still hated to talk about his father. "I don't know," he replied with a shrug and Jesse shot him a sympathetic look.

"You don't know?"

"I don't," Brian replied. "I know nothing about my dad, Dom. He was never there. He bailed on me and Mom when I was little, and I don't know if he's dead or alive or if he has a family or whatever. I just don't remember him and I don't care about him."

Dom hadn't expected that. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry about that, dawg," Leon said. "My mom left me, too, so I can relate. Even though she left when I was older, so I can remember her." His mother had thought him how to drive right before she left. He hated her for it, but then he just guessed he couldn't really hate her completely. He had really mixed feelings about his mother and he could understand where Brian was coming from a little bit.

"That sucks," Brian shot Leon a sympathetic look.

He shrugged. "It's okay, I guess."

But, Brian knew it wasn't okay to him, and he knew it because of his own experience. However, he also knew that it meant Leon didn't really want to speak about it anymore, which he could understand as well. "I promised myself I wouldn't be like my dad, and I'm doing everything I can to always be there for Mia and Jack." He smiled fondly at his son. "I don't know what will happen in the future, but if for some reason I'm not able to be there, it's not gonna be because I left willingly."

As Brian said those words, Dom began realizing that the guy was really dedicated to being a father. He still wasn't exactly happy that he knocked up Mia—even though he loved Jack already—but he was glad that Brian was actually responsible and stayed with his sister and nephew. He knew there were assholes that would've bolted right way, like Brian's father did. Since Brian was a liar, Dom didn't know if everything he said was true, but the promise to take care of Mia and Jesse apparently was and he was thankful.

* * *

"Shit, I forgot to buy eggs," Mia groaned as she looked into the refrigerator. "Looks like it's time for a trip to the market."

"You want me to go?" Brian asked.

"No, don't worry. I'll go myself. I might as well buy other things as well." She looked from her boyfriend to her brother warily. "That is, if you're not gonna fight or anything." Everyone else was back at Tej's Garage. She and Brian went home to put Jack to sleep and prepare dinner, and Dom decided to go with them to help. Dom and Brian still managed to be civil and have conversations when other people were around, but she wasn't sure if they could be left alone without any problems. They hadn't actually been alone after Dom attacked Brian.

"Nothing's gonna happen," Dom assured his sister, his eyes going to Brian for a moment. "I promise."

Brian looked at Dom suspiciously, but he didn't argue against him. Mia also looked a bit wary, but she nodded, deciding to trust her older brother. "Okay," she agreed. She walked to Brian. "It's okay with you, too, right?"

Brian shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

She smiled and stood in her tip-toes to kiss him. Dom's eyes narrowed at the scene, but he didn't do anything. He figured he would just have to get used to it. He and Brian watched in silence as Mia went to look for her purse. When she came back, she glanced at both of them, as if hesitating. "You're sure—"

"Yeah, Mi," Dom nodded. "Don't worry."

"Okay," she kissed Brian again much to Dom's charging and then hugged her brother. "See you later then."

They heard the house's main door close, and an awkward silence settled in the kitchen. Brian looked a bit uncomfortable, and so did Dom. They really didn't know what to say, although Dom knew they needed to talk.

"So, uh, I'll go watch TV while we wait for Mia," the blond murmured awkwardly, wanting to leave the kitchen. He couldn't help but feel a bit wary after Toretto tried to kill him. So far, Dom hadn't done anything like that again in the weeks the team has been in Miami, but they hadn't been alone since then either. Brian wanted to trust Dom, but he wasn't sure if he could—the man didn't really think when pissed off.

"No, Brian—wait!" Dom called as the blond was walking out of the kitchen. "We need to talk."

Brian sighed as he turned to look at Dom. "Do we really?"

"You know damn well we do," Dom replied back.

"About what, exactly? I'm pretty sure Mia and Jesse filled you in with everything," he mumbled. He didn't feel like talking to Dom at the moment. He didn't even know what they would talk about, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't end up well.

"We can't always keep on like this," Dom said. "You're my nephew's father. Whether we want it or not, we're family. We need to have this conversation, for Mia and for Jack. They're the only thing that's keeping us together right now, and we have to make an effort for them. We have to talk—settle things, talk 'em out."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you talk things out?" he questioned sarcastically. "And _why_ would you want to talk things out? Last time I checked, you were pissed with me. You tried to fuckin' kill me."

"You knocked up my sister."

"Kockin' up someone ain't like killin' someone, Dom!" Brian snapped. "If I had been an asshole and left Mia alone with Jack, _then_ I'd understand why you'd want to choke me—but I'm here with Mia and Jack. I'd never leave them. You had no reason to attack me!"

"I wasn't thinkin', okay?" Dom snapped. "I was pissed, and you know how I am when I'm pissed. Besides, you didn't really say the most respectful of comments!"

"I was being chocked and I was pissed. People say inappropriate things when they're pissed. I didn't think, just like you just don't fuckin' think when you're pissed and just Hulk out on people instead of actually talking."

Dom's eyes flared, but he couldn't deny Brian was right about that. It kind of pissed him off that Brian knew him so much while he didn't know if what Brian had said about himself back in LA was all bullshit or if there was actually any truth into it. "Well, the man who lied to me in my face for weeks, betrayed me, and destroyed my family knocked up my sister. I had a right to be angry!"

"I didn't destroy your family!"

"Like hell you didn't!" Dom sneered. "You were the cop sent to bust us!"

For the longest time, Brian had felt like the reason of the separation of Dom's family was him, and he'd felt guilty about it. Even after Mia and Jesse told him he wasn't at fault, he still felt like he was at fault. And he still did. Perhaps he was guilty about it all. But, being a father gave him a new perspective of life. He now knew what it was like to be the head of a family, and he knew he'd never do anything that put his family in danger.

For that reason, he wasn't capable to comprehend why Dom would convince his team—his family—to pull off those heists. The hijackings were dangerous and definitely trouble. There was no way the LAPD or even the FBI wouldn't get involved in that case. Even if it brought in money for them, it also brought danger. And if Brian hadn't been the one sent in undercover, then another person would've—someone that wouldn't have helped the team and instead would've had them all on handcuffs as soon as they found out the Toretto crew were the ones guilty.

Mia was right when she said that if Dom wouldn't have done those hijackings, their family wouldn't have been separated. Maybe Brian was guilty in a way, but the main culprit was the man who started it all in the first place.

"You brought that shit to yourself! I was only doin' my job. I fuckin' gave it up to help you! Everything I worked so hard to achieve went to hell the day I gave you those keys."

"You sound like you regret it."

"I don't. I really don't regret that choice. I'm the happiest as I can be right now, but shit, don't go blamin' me for what was caused by your actions!"

"You—" Dom gritted his teeth and his body tensed, but he took in a deep breath to calm himself down. "This isn't going well."

"You actually thought it'd go well?" Brian cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't know how it happened, but you ended up bein' one of my best friends back in LA, Brian," Dom said quietly. "I want to have that back."

"You want to have Spilner back," Brian concluded, shaking his head. "Well, newsflash, Dom! Spilner never existed. It was me all along, just with another name and another background. That's all."

"Spilner did exist," Dom argued. "And he still does. He's a part of you. He's inside somewhere."

"Shit, Dom," Brian shook his head. "Spilner and all my undercover identities—they're just me pretending to be someone else. They're me lying to everyone, makin' them believe I'm someone who's not me."

"And _who_ are you?"

"I'm just a street kid, a juvenile delinquent, that believed in black and white and decided to become a cop with the sole purpose of goin' legit and avoidin' jail. I'm a damn good liar that was sent undercover multiple times and always managed to nail in pretending to be whoever I was supposed to be. I'm a guy who has loved cars since I was a kid, and I'm a guy who didn't really know what a family was like until I met you guys. I gave up my career for said family and now I have a family of my own to think about. I'm a liar who would never betray my friends or my family because if I've learned somethin' in these three years is that family and friendship can be forever if you're willing to make it work. That's me, Dom. Not Spilner, not anyone else. _Me_."

"So that's Brian O'Conner," Dom said and Brian nodded. "But, are you being Brian O'Conner right now or are you pretending to be someone else again without realizing it?"

"What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"You stayed with Mia and Jack, true," Dom nodded. "But, based on what you said about Brian O'Conner, he doesn't seem like a family man. Yet, here you are, trying to fit into that role."

"I'm not pretending, Dom," Brian replied, his eyes narrowed. "I _am_ Brian O'Conner, and I'm trying to get used to this kinda life."

"So you're not used to this life?"

"No," Brian huffed. "I've never really been but I'm gettin' there."

"And goin' legit is the way?" They had gone to a street race hosted by Tej, but Brian refused to go, staying with Mia and Jack instead. Everyone in the street racing world seemed to love Brian—or, as they called him, "Bullet"—and they seemed disappointed that he didn't show up. "The people at the races miss you."

"They act like I don't go to races anymore," Brian shook his head. "I just don't go as frequently as I did before, that's all. I still race."

"And you started racin' when Spilner did."

"I raced with Rome and other kids back when I was a teenager, way before Spilner ever happened."

"Why were you such a buster then?"

"In case you didn't hear me—it was back when I was a teenager against other teenagers. Didn't practice or improve for years. And the races Rome and I usta go weren't as pro as Hector's or Tej's."

"It looks like you improved a lot since then, though, _Bullet_ ," Dom said, a smirk taking over his face. Whatever tension there was practically disappeared once the topic became racing. "I'd like to race you."

Brian smirked back. "Yeah, well, maybe another day."

"We'd have to be careful though. Now that we've got clean records, we can't do reckless shit."

"I know. Anyway, I wasn't the one pullin' heists all over Latin America."

"I didn't know we were clean," Dom shrugged. "Figured it didn't matter anymore. Although now it does matter. I can't blow this opportunity to have my family together again."

"I almost died gettin' those damn clean records, so you'd better not do that," Brian said.

Dom smirked. "Then I guess you're not alone in tryin' to go legit."

"Welcome to the club."

Dom chuckled. It kind of felt like he was still talking to Brian Spilner, which he was happy about. He hadn't realized he had missed him. He wanted his friend back. "I want us to be friends again, Brian."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "You want to be friends with Spilner or with me? Because, Dom, your friend wasn't Spilner. It was me; liar, fucked up me."

Dom was still convinced that Brian Spilner was a part of Brian O'Conner as a whole, even though Brian himself didn't really think that way. Brian O'Conner was way more complicated that what Dom initially thought he would be. Maybe he was right and Spilner never existed. Maybe it really had been O'Conner whom he befriended all along. Either way, Brian was the man who made his sister happy, his nephew's father, and one of the few people that Dom had ever let into his family.

It didn't matter the name; O'Conner, Spilner, whatever. Brian was still Brian.

And maybe that's why his sister was still with him. Maybe that's why they managed to work it all out after Brian had lied about his identity and maybe that's why they were still happy. Even when Brian was being honest, it seemed like he was still Spilner. Perhaps he wasn't lying back in LA about his personality, or his thoughts, or feelings, or even taste in cars. Maybe that's why Dom found himself wanting Brian as a friend again. That's why he was finally forgiving.

"I want to be friends with Brian," Dom replied. "I want to be friends with the liar, fucked up guy my sister fell in love with and that's my nephew's father. I want to be friends with the guy that's part of my family."

Brian looked at Dom for a moment, as if to see if Dom was being honest or not, but then a smile formed on his handsome face. "You've been friends with that guy for over three years, Dom."

Dom smiled back. "That's good to know." It actually felt good—having Brian as a friend again, despite everything. It was way better than having this unending fury over things that happened in the past. Dom knew that holding onto the past so much wasn't good. That's how he ended up in prison in the first place. He'd have to learn to let go, and this was a good first step. "Now how does it sound to get some Coronas and watch some TV until Mia comes back?"

"Sounds good to me," Brian agreed, getting two Coronas out of the fridge and following Dom to the living room. Rekindling their friendship was a big step. It took weeks of constant tensions, sarcasm, indirect meanings and even some fights to get there, and while maybe it'd take longer for them to actually let go and get where they used to be three years ago, they were sure they'd get there eventually.


	11. Family Barbecue

Everyone noticed the difference in the relationship of Dom and Brian in the days that followed their conversation. They had asked what had happened, but the two just explained they talked things out and left it at that. The only two who got the full story were Letty and Mia. The others kept insisting until they eventually just gave up.

Even though that conversation was only supposed to fix the relationship between Dom and Brian, it ended up improving the relationship of Dom's team with the Miami crew. Roman, Tej, Suki, and Jimmy were always keeping an eye on Dom after the man tried to kill their friend, but they stopped worrying after it was obvious the two were back to being friends. It didn't take that long for them to open up as well, and so far, everyone was getting along great. The only one that wasn't completely happy was Vince, but he made an effort to get along with everyone and not provoke any more fights. There was still tension, especially with Vince and Roman, but so far there were no more fights.

The DT team had stayed in Miami for some few months now, and now they were to a point that Dom would consider Roman, Tej, Suki, and Jimmy a part of their family in a way. He knew they had been there for Brian, Jesse, and Mia while he and the team were running around in Latin America. He was pretty sure Mia, Jesse, and Brian already thought of their friends as family, which would mean they were Dom's family as well.

So he decided to do something he would always do with his family on Sundays.

"We should have a barbecue someday," he suggested to his team as they ate dinner.

"A barbecue?" Mia prompted as she fed Jack.

"Well, yeah," Dom nodded. "It's been over three years since we last had a barbecue—you know; the whole family. You could invite the others and we could all have a barbecue on the beach or something."

"That sounds awesome!" Jesse exclaimed. "I miss the Sunday barbecues!"

"I'm down for the idea," Leon said.

"Me too!" Letty grinned.

"Yeah, sounds good," Vince agreed.

"I'm in," Brian smiled.

"Let's tell everyone—we could do it next Sunday," Mia said. "And it's going to be amazing!"

* * *

"Holy shit," Jimmy whistled as he watched Dom fire up the barbecue. Tej had managed to get a very good place for a barbecue in the beach, with a huge table for them all to eat. There was what Jimmy would call a mountain of meat on the table beside Dom. The DT team was who bought everything since they were the ones who used to have barbecues, so Jimmy hadn't seen the amount of food until now. "You gonna cook _all_ that meat, man?"

"Of course I will," Dom replied and Jimmy gave him a look. "Trust me. We're lucky if something even lasts."

"Whatever you say, man," Jimmy shrugged. "You're the expert here."

" _Hey, ¿en como cuánto va a estar listo?_ _¡Tenemos hambre!_ " Tego complained as he rubbed his stomach. **(Hey, in about how long will it be ready? We're hungry!)**

"How can you already be hungry?" Jesse wondered.

"Dawg, Dom just now fired up the barbecue," Leon informed.

"Shit, _just now_?!" Roman whined. "Oh, come on, man."

"'Course you gonna be damn hungry already, man!" Tej rolled his eyes. "You got a black hole of a stomach, I'm tellin' you."

"No shit," Vince muttered sarcastically.

" _Tego, creo que ya encontramos a tu nuevo major amigo,_ " Rico grinned over at Roman's direction. **(Tego, I think we already found your new best friend.)** " _Los dos siempre tienen hambre._ " **(You two are always hungry.)** He raised his voice so that all the team could hear him. " _Creo que ya sé por qué Tego siempre quema la comida._ _¡Está tan desesperado por comer que lo cocina demasiado!_ " **(I think I know why Tego always burn food. He's so desperate to eat that he overcooks it!)** The team laughed at his comment.

" _Qué chistoso,_ " Tego sneered. **(How funny.)**

"Guys—don't fight," Mia said as she came over with the salad.

"This is normal for them, trust me," Gisele told her as she followed the young mother with the potatoes.

"I can imagine," Suki chuckled. She turned her gaze and smiled. "Aw, look at that, Gisele! Look at your man."

Gisele turned around and smiled when seeing Han building a sand castle with Brian and Jack. Her boyfriend playing with a baby had to be one of the cutest things she had ever seen. "Well, that's my Han," she grinned.

"I don't know why, but Jack manages to make everyone be a softy," Letty chuckled. "Why, Mia?"

"Don't ask me!" the youngest Toretto exclaimed.

"Why not? You created him!" Letty laughed.

"I didn't do it alone," Mia laughed as well and then pointed at Brian. "He was there—it's his fault, too!"

"What's my fault?" Brian asked from where he sat with Jack and Han. He saw Mia pointing at him and overheard her saying something was his fault.

"This little one's creation," she grinned, walking to them and kissing Jack's forehead. "Letty wants to know why he makes everyone be a softy."

"That's a good question!" Han agreed. "I don't even know why I'm building sand castles right now."

"It must be 'cause he's a Toretto," Dom called from the barbecue.

Brian rolled his eyes, but a chuckle escaped him, showing his amusement. "Based on what criteria?" he called to Dom.

"Other that it definitely isn't the O'Conner genes?" Dom called back. "Well, I'll have to know that when Mia was a baby, everyone would stop to play with her. So, yeah—Toretto genes!"

"And here we've got proud Uncle Dom!" Roman announced with a grin.

"Proud, definitely," Letty shook her head.

"Yeah, don't be so obvious, brother—you're gonna end up embarrassing the kid," Vince joked. After several weeks, he was finally stopping to resent Jack. He figured the kid was innocent, so he did his best not to focus his anger on Jack. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he ended up caring for the kid.

Dom snorted. "Nah, he won't be embarrassed by his cool uncle. I don't know about his father though!" he exclaimed loudly.

"You wish, Toretto!" Brian yelled back, still building the sand castle with his son, and everyone chuckled at the exchange.

* * *

"Finally! Time to eat!" Roman grinned as he reached over to get a piece of chicken. The food was finally cooked and the whole group sat in the table to enjoy their lunch. Roman and Tego had been particularly impatient, since they had been hungry from the start. However, Tego knew a rule Roman didn't, which is why he didn't go and reach for the food first.

"Wait!" Dom stopped him, and Roman glanced at him in slight annoyance, not happy that he was stopped from getting his chicken. "We have to say grace first."

Roman's eyebrows raised as Suki blinked and Tej and Jimmy exchanged confused looks. They were the only ones not aware of the Toretto tradition of saying grace before eating, and honestly, they didn't expect it. The expressions in their faces gave them away and the others laughed at them. Brian couldn't really blame them—he remembered when he was undercover and Dom declared that Jesse had to say grace. He had been surprised that Dom would do something like that, but there were a lot of things he hadn't really known about Dom until he got to really know him.

"Uh… grace?" Roman repeated stupidly, his hand still almost touching the chicken.

"Yeah, and you might wanna reconsider touchin' that, dawg," Leon said. "Whoever touches food first says grace."

"Oh, come on," Roman groaned. "You kidding me."

" _¿Por qué crees que no toqué la comida?_ " Tego asked, shaking his head. **(Why do you think I didn't touch the food?)**

"House rules, man. House rules," Brian smirked at Roman.

"You knew about this rule and didn't tell me?!" Roman questioned. "C'mon, Bri—ain't I s'pposed to be your best friend?"

"Yeah, but I figured it'd be cooler if you found out of this tradition just like I did," Brian replied, his smirk still on his face.

"Haha, very funny," Roman glared at him. "But, hey—I ain't touchin' the chicken, see?!" He nodded to his hand. "Close but not touch! I was stopped just in time."

"That's probably because you blessing the table would give us all bad luck," Han commented.

"Well said!" Tej grinned and high-fived Han.

Roman glared at his chuckling friends and shook his head. "That's cold, man."

"Yeah, whatever," Letty rolled her eyes. "So, who says grace?"

"I will!" Mia grinned. She put her hands together in prayer, and everyone followed her actions. "Father, we want to thank you for the food that you've given us. For that we're all finally together and for us getting over old fights and grudges to be here today. For our family that has definitely grown in these last three years."

"And we want to thank you for this little angel here," Dom said, taking over the prayer and smiling at Jack who was sitting on his baby chair beside his parents. "Bless him and all of our family. And of course, we want to thank you for fast cars. Amen."

"Amen," the occupants of the table chorused.

"So, now we can eat?" Roman asked, and when he received nods, he grinned and went to grab the chicken he'd intended to take. Soon, everyone was following his example and began getting food for them to eat, all while chatting with each other like one big family.

* * *

"Brian is Brian, huh?" Dom asked Mia as he watched her boyfriend playing with her son on the beach. The food was eaten already and they whole group dispersed to enjoy a day on the beach.

The question might've sounded confusing, maybe even stupid, but Mia immediately understood what her brother meant by that; no matter what name, what identity, Brian was still himself.

"Yeah," Mia nodded with a smile. "Brian is Brian."

"Is that why you chose to stay with him, Mia?" Dom asked quietly after a moment of hesitation.

Mia paused, and in that moment, the two siblings realized that while they had gotten along well during these last few months, there were still a conversation pending between them. Because even if they were siblings, even if they could forgive each other, they still wanted—needed—answers. They couldn't just keep on acting as if they didn't have questions, as if they could actually understand each other. They hadn't even realized they were acting, so it hit them like a ton of bricks the moment Dom asked that question.

They needed to talk as well.

"Let's take a walk," Mia suggested, standing up from where she was sitting. Dom looked at her frowning, believing her to be avoiding the conversation. Mia usually avoided conversations she didn't want to have; changing topics, answering a question with another question. Still, he stood up as well, and he followed her as she told Brian that they were taking a walk and then led him away from the group.

"You didn't answer my question," Dom reminded her as they walked.

"I know," Mia sighed. "That's why I told you to take a walk. Let's be honest, this will probably take a while and it'd be better if we're alone."

"Yeah," Dom let out a chuckle, knowing it was true. "That always happens."

"We're Torettos," she smiled.

"Yeah, we are," Dom grinned, but the grin quickly dropped from his face. "Now, stop stalling, Mia."

"I'm not stalling," Mia replied. "I'm just continuing the flow of the conversation."

"Mia—"

"I will answer, Dom! Jesus," she shook her head.

"Answer me then," he prompted. "Why did you chose to stay with him, Mia? Why did you chose him over us that day? Was it because Brian is Brian and you understood that or was it because of something else?"

"It wasn't because Brian is Brian," Mia replied. "I didn't even know Brian was Brian; I mean, since he lied," she shrugged. "I couldn't possibly know that he was being himself all along, but, uh, I still decided to trust him. Because, you know..."

"You love him?" he guessed.

Mia nodded. "I fell in love with Brian back when he was pretending to be Spilner. I, uh, didn't take to kindly that he... lied to me, naturally," she chuckled a little. "And I was sure that we were over after he came clean. I thought whatever illusion I had with him would go to hell, but... but, when I had to chose whether to go with you or stay with him, I realized that I couldn't hate him. I _wanted_ to hate him, Dom. I really did, but how can I hate someone I love? It would've been lying to myself."

"So you stayed because you loved him?"

"That's got a lot to do with it, but not quite. Even if I loved him, I wouldn't have stayed if I didn't have some reassurance that I could trust him."

"And what reassured you to do so?"

"He saved Vince," Mia shrugged. "He blew his cover to help us. He risked his life to do so. It made me think that he actually cared for us—cared for me. And even though I knew the most logical thing was to leave with you, there was a part of me that nagged me to stay. I couldn't picture my life without him, Dom. I wanted to believe him, and then when I saw him..." She smiled. "I wanted to believe that he cared for us, and I loved him enough to do so. I wanted to make a choice by myself. I didn't want you to keep making the choices for me. I was tired of you taking control of my life. Not to mention I kinda blamed you for what happened..."

"You blamed me?" Dom asked in surprise.

"If you hadn't started the truck hijackings, the Feds wouldn't have sent Brian in and our family wouldn't have broken up," Mia deadpanned.

Dom couldn't argue. He knew it was true—he'd known it all along, even though he always tried to find someone else to blame so he could handle the guilt. That someone had been Brian, and it had worked pretty well until the blond shoved the truth he refused to see in his face. "But, if I hadn't started the heists, you wouldn't have met Brian."

"I know," she replied, and then she smiled. "And I want to thank you. I know this sounds terrible, but even though all that shit went down and we had to split up and not see each other in years, I'm the happiest that I've ever been in my life right now. "

"It's nice to know there was a good thing among the many consequences of my fuck up," he said. "I didn't want to see the truth some months ago, but I can do it now—Brian makes you happy."

"He really does," Mia smiled. "After I chose him, I still wasn't so sure if I made the right choice. But, then he saved Jesse, got rid of Tran, and let you walk away free. That's when I was assured that he was on our side. And even though I still resented his lying ways a little, I still decided to go with him along with Jesse and I gave him the chance to be with me again, as long as I got to know the real him. And during those months we were running, I began to realize that, well..." she giggled. "Brian is still Brian."

"He is," Dom agreed. "After you chose Brian over me, I was... well, I was hurt," he admitted, and Mia looked up at him with a shocked yet guilty look. "I couldn't believe that my own sister chose him over me. And it hurt me. It really did. But, I figured he made you happy, hence why you chose to stay with him, and I forced myself to get over it. When I came here and met Jack, I was so pissed. I've heard so many stories about asshole knockin' their girls up and ruinin' their lives, and considering our history with Brian..."

"He was still with me even though we had Jack now," Mia said pointedly.

"I know, but I was still pissed. He knocked up my sister, damn it."

"Over protective older brother," Mia rolled her eyes.

"Just doin' my job," he grinned. "Anyway, after a while I got over myself and saw the big picture and realized that you were happy with your family." He paused, looked at his little sister and smiled. "And that's all a big brother can ask for. I'm glad you're happy, Mia."

Mia smiled brightly. "And I'm glad you're here." She hugged her brother. She had missed him so much, it was almost surreal to see him every day now. Dom smiled as he hugged Mia back. She had no idea how much he had missed her. And they were both so glad they had that conversation. They needed it.

"Let's go back, now," Dom suggested. "The others might be worried about us." Mia nodded, and the two of them walked back to their friends; Dom's arm around her shoulders and Mia's arm around his waist.

* * *

"Ooh, I see pregnant Mia!" Leon announced loudly as he pointed to a picture of Mia when she was heavily pregnant with Jack. Jesse had been showing Leon an album of pictures of the Miami crew and somehow Vince, Letty, Dom, Brian and Mia joined them.

Dom stared at the picture of his sister when pregnant in wonder. It was so strange to see her with a pregnant belly. Some few months ago, he would've been furious. Now, though, he found himself looking at the picture with a small smile. Mia's huge smile in the picture showed her happiness, and that made Dom happy. "How far along where you?"

"About seven months, I think," Mia replied with a smile.

"I remember that day!" Jesse grinned. "Tej had closed the garage so we could all go to the beach for the entire day."

"Yeah, and Rome kept trying to surf and failed miserably at it, didn't he?" Mia asked Brian with a laugh.

"Yeah. Yeah, Rome sucks at surfing," Brian chuckled and shook his head. "He's getting better though."

"You're like the surf teacher, aren't ya?" Letty asked amused.

"Yeah, I guess that's about right. Speakin' of teaching, remember when I tried to teach you how to surf?" Brian grinned at his girlfriend, remembering the day of their date at the beach, before the Verone case.

"I remember that I kept falling off the board," she replied with a grin as she shook her head. "I was terrible at it."

"It was the first time you ever got on one! Of course you were gonna fall."

"I can't believe we're still talking about this about two years after this date happened," Mia laughed.

"Wait, you tried to teach my sister how to surf, O'Conner?" Dom asked in amusement.

"She'd said surfing looked fun, so I told her to try it out," he explained. "I've been tryin' to get her to continue practicing, but she refuses."

"I'm not gonna get on a board I'm gonna fall off," she chuckled.

"Well, it looks like you lost a student, Bri, but you got another one," Leon commented. "I mean, you said you were teaching Rome."

"Yeah, I guess," the blond replied. "I love to surf, so I don't mind helpin' people out when it comes to it."

"So were you surfing when Mia took this picture?" Vince questioned.

He gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Probably, yeah."

"Looks like you didn't do much whilst Mia was pregnant with your kid, huh?" Vince asked with a smirk. "I mean, surfing while Mia was carrying your kid."

Letty punched Vince. "Don't fuckin' be like that." She glared at him to get him to stop. Then her gaze turned to Brian. "Really, though—what could you do while Mia was pregnant? I mean, she was the one pregnant, not you, and your kid hadn't been born yet…"

Brian snorted. "If you think I didn't have to do anything while Mia was pregnant then you have no fuckin' idea."

Vince raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly did ya have to do?"

"Uh… beside dealin' with the pregnant woman herself?" Brian asked and Jesse burst into laughter.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Dom commented.

"Yeah, I wish it was as easy as it sounds."

"It wasn't so bad," Mia rolled her eyes.

"You kept me awake when you couldn't sleep!"

"I didn't let you sleep because _you_ knocked me up. Your son in my womb was the reason I wasn't able to sleep!"

"Last time I checked, you need _two_ people to create a kid and I definitely didn't hear you complainin'," he shot back and Mia's cheeks flushed red.

"I did not need to hear that," Dom muttered, not wanting nor liking to know _anything_ about his sister's sex life.

"Yeah, sorry, Dom," Brian apologized. "Anyway, the thing is, if I wanted to get any sleep again, I had to make sure Mia was as comfortable as possible so she could sleep herself."

"So, besides not sleeping, is there anything else?" Leon asked.

"Cravings," Brian said. "She would want random things at random hours, and guess who had to get her what she wanted?" He pointed to himself. "There was this time it was three a.m. and Mia wanted a pizza, so she woke me up and there I was drivin' around the city at three a.m. looking for any open pizzeria around. When I finally found one, I got in the shop and this guy in the counter looked at me and asked, 'Your woman's pregnant, isn't she?'"

Mia shrugged. "I just wanted a pizza."

"At three a.m.," Brian added.

"I just love how the pizza guy guessed Mia was pregnant," Letty chuckled.

Dom shrugged. "Well, why else would anyone get a pizza at three a.m?"

"Anyway, is that all?" Vince asked Brian.

"No, it's not. Don't forget the mood swings!" Jesse exclaimed.

Brian groaned. "Those were the worst."

"I wasn't so crazy," Mia defended herself, but when both Brian and Jesse sent her some looks of disbelief, she sighed. "Well, not _that_ much crazy."

"I've made my decision," Leon announced and everyone looked at him confused. "I'm never knocking up a girl in my life! Condoms are gonna be my new best friends!" Everyone laughed at the comment that earned Leon a punch on the arm, courtesy of Mia—which, of course, just made everyone laugh harder.

* * *

"You know what I've been thinkin' about lately?" Dom asked aloud.

"No?" Roman raised his eyebrows.

"About what?" Han questioned.

"1327."

That number didn't mean anything to Roman, Tej, Suki, Jimmy, Gisele, Han, Tego, and Rico. They didn't even know what it was. They just glanced at each other and then stared at Dom in confusion. They didn't understand. However, Letty, Vince, Leon, Jesse, Mia, and Brian understood immediately. It wasn't just some number. Because they knew that number, it meant something to them. Something dear.

"What about it, brother?" Vince asked, but there was a grin forming on his face as he deduced where his friend was going with his thoughts.

"We have clean records," Dom said, hinting the idea he had long thought about. "We don't have to run anymore."

Letty immediately caught her boyfriend's drift and she grinned. "So what you're saying is…?"

"We're going back?" Leon's excitement was obvious to the world.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Gimme a second, will ya?" Roman glanced at the Toretto crew in confusion. "Whaddya talkin' 'bout here? Goin' back, numbers… Might give some context, y'know, 'cause we're kinda lost here." He glanced to his best friend, who had mixed emotions in his face, and Roman didn't know why. "Whaddya talkin' 'bout?"

"The house back at LA…" Brian trailed off.

"Home," Dom replied.

"Wait, so you're saying…" Suki looked at Brian, Mia, and Jesse particularly, and even though she tried to hide it, sadness made its way into her voice. "You're going back?"

"You guys returnin' to Los Angeles?" Tej asked hesitantly.

"We haven't talked about it," Mia said honestly, Jack at her hip.

"Do we even have to talk about it? It's home!" Leon grinned. "Doesn't it sound great?"

"But…" Jesse glanced at Tej, Suki, and Jimmy. "…What about—"

"What's the problem?" Vince asked. "Don't you want to go back home?"

"Yeah! Yeah, but… home…"

"Our home… our home is…" Mia looked at around the garage, and she knew she couldn't just leave like that.

"Our home's here now," Brian finished for her, knowing how hard it was for Mia and Jesse to say it out loud.

They had been in Miami for three years now. And when they had first arrived, they wouldn't have hesitated to leave for LA if they had the chance. Now, however, they weren't so sure. They had so many memories, so many things that had happened in that place—in Tej's Garage, in the beach, in their house, in the street races, in the city. They couldn't just forget all that. They would always think of Los Angeles as home, but Miami was home, too. Because the people they loved were there.

Tej, Suki, and Jimmy were there with them from day one. They were the ones who let them participate in the street races, gave them somewhere to stay, let them hang out with them, showed them the city, gave them help when they needed it and didn't judge them. Then Roman joined during the Verone case, and they all worked together. Eventually, they became more than friends to them—they were family. They were there during Mia's pregnancy, and they always were there for Jack if they were needed.

How could they just leave them behind?

"What are you talkin' about?" Dom frowned. He accepted that his sister had a family of her own and he accepted their friends into their family. But, this? He could understand Brian, but he didn't understand how Mia and Jesse were choosing Miami over LA. "LA has always been home. Have you forgotten everything we've been through over there? All the memories we have?"

"Not all of that are good memories," Mia said quietly, remembering those last few moments in LA where everything had gone to hell.

Jesse nodded, remembering Tran. "Yeah, I almost died, man. Shit, that's not easy to forget. Miami was supposed to be our fresh start…"

"And our friends are here," Brian nodded to Roman, Tej, Suki, and Jimmy. He was pretty sure that if he went to LA, Roman would probably tag along—but what about Tej, Suki, and Jimmy? He didn't want to just leave them behind. "We can't just leave 'em."

"Who said about leavin' anybody?" Dom questioned.

Tej scoffed. "What, man? Y'thought we are just gonna leave our lives behind to go to LA with y'all?"

"I'm glad you decided to consider us, but we have our whole lives here," Suki said.

"Yeah—friends, business, everything," Jimmy agreed.

"See, you've underestimated me," Dom grinned, a smirk taking over his face. "I thought about some motivation for you to come with us, since I was sure my sister and Jesse wouldn't want to leave you behind." He hadn't expected Mia and Jesse to actually _choose_ to stay here if they had to, but he had expected the hesitancy of leaving the people they had let into their circle in the last three years.

"Motivation?" Jimmy raised an eyebrow.

"What kinda motivation?" Tej asked, crossing his arms.

"Motivation that will surely have you interested," Dom smirked. "And hopefully it'll interest you, too," he said to Han, Gisele, Tego, and Rico.

"We're listening," Han said.

" _Vamos, cuéntanos, hombre,_ " Tego insisted. **(Come on, tell us, man.)**

"Suspense is killin' me here—tell us already!" Roman complained.

"Just three words; Race Wars—Reborn!"

* * *

"Of course all Dom would have to do if to mention Race Wars and everyone would be on board," Mia rolled her eyes as she bathed Jack. The idea of Race Wars defintely got the interest of the Miami crew, and after a long conversaton, they had agreed to come to LA.

"You make it sound like it was a bad thing," Brian chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bathtub as he watched with a smile as Mia washed their son's blond hair.

"It isn't a _bad_ thing," Mia said. "But, having an obsession with something can't be that good either—especially when that something is dangerous."

"Mia, I've seen you race," Brian commented in amusement. "You're just about as crazy as any of us, and you don't care about safety when you're behind the wheel. Don't go around saying you're not excited to bring Race Wars back."

"A little, yeah," she shrugged with a small smile. "I like racing. I just don't like that it's illegal."

"Race Wars is legit," Brian said. "Private property. No-one can say shit."

"I guess you're right." She chuckled "Still think it's funny that just the mention of Race Wars had everyone interested."

"Of course it did," Brian chuckled. "It Race Wars! Cars, money, women…" The last word earned Brian a punch in the arm. "Ow!" He rubbed his arm. "What was that for?" he asked, and then smiled when hearing his son giggle at him.

"Women? Really, Brian?"

"Oh, come on! You can't help but look at someone hot. You tellin' me you haven't been eyeing hot guys around?"

"Nope."

"Bullshit."

"Okay, yeah, I have," she admitted. "Looking doesn't hurt!"

"It doesn't! Then why did you punch me?"

"Oh, you know; jealous girlfriend and stuff. Now, don't you judge me. You get jealous, too."

"When did I get jealous?"

"You scared the shit out of some guy some months ago!"

"That dude was gettin' way too touchy-feely," he muttered.

"You shouldn't have worried," she said. "You know I'd never do that to you."

"You weren't who I was worried about," he assured. "I was worried about that bastard that didn't seem to be able to get his hands off you. I had to do something, y'know?"

"Well, it worked, 'cause he hasn't shown his face around the garage," she commented and rolled her eyes when seeing the smirk in his face. "And you're proud of that? You made Tej lose a client!"

"I'm pretty sure Tej has a lot of clients to make up for him," Brian smirked as he leaned down and kissed her. "Especially now that he'll have double business with Dom's garage and Race Wars."

"True," Mia nodded as she lifted Jack off the tub. Brian handed her a towel to dry their son. "It's a good thing, too."

"Yeah. See? It is a good thing," he grinned cheekily.

"It's amazing that we can go home, now… back to LA, all of us together," Mia said.

Brian smiled and kissed her cheek. "I guess our fresh start of three years ago gave us good results after all."

"It definitely has," she smiled up to her boyfriend. "And now Jack will now LA. You hear, Jack?" she cooed to her little boy. "You'll see where I was raised. You'll see my old home. You'll love it there, I'm sure."


	12. Our Home

Being back in LA seemed surreal.

Their friends didn't really react at the sight of the house, simply looking around like someone usually does when they arrive somewhere new. To Dom, Letty, Vince, Leon, Mia, Jesse, and Brian though, it wasn't somewhere new. It was somewhere familiar that they often thought they wouldn't ever come back again. Dom, Letty, Vince, and Leon never expected to actually get clean records, which meant they couldn't come back to the States. Brian, Jesse, and Mia didn't see the point of coming back if the team wasn't going to be there, especially since their friends were with them in Miami.

Mia had made sure to keep paying for the house, not having the heart to sell it. She was never a convict—not until they realized she was Brian's accomplice, which was pretty much the day they were caught—so she could go into their accounts and pay for the place. It might have been a waste of money, but she had always thought she'd come back, at least at the beginning. And after she thought she'd stay in Miami, she _still_ paid as if a part of her knew she'd come back eventually.

When they got out of their cars and stood in front of the house, they almost felt like they were dreaming.

The house hadn't changed one bit. It still looked just the same as it did when they left. Maybe it was a little dirtier, but they could easily fix that.

Room arrangements were difficult. The house was bigger than what it looked like, but they were definitely more people now. So, since they knew they'd have that particular problem, they looked for houses near 1327 so that the others could move in. And, luckily for them, the house beside it—1325—was on sale.

So, it was decided that Dom, Letty, Mia, Brian, Jack, Jesse, Vince, and Leon would live in 1327 while Roman, Tej, Suki, Jimmy, Han, Gisele, Tego, and Rico lived in 1325. At first it was kind of strange, living all together and knowing that their other friends were literally next door, but it was also quite nice and they got used to it pretty quick.

For the occupants of 1327, who had lived together for quite a while before the heists (with exception of Brian—who only came around but never actually lived there—and of course Jack) found themselves going back to a similar routines that they had while they lived together three years ago. Sure, there were some differences—like the presence of a baby in the house—but it was mostly the same which actually was comforting to them.

Not too long after they had settled in, Rosa and Cara had come to stay with them as well. Rosa stayed in 1327 and Cara in 1325. The predictions of everyone were a reality when Vince and Rosa announced they were in an official relationship. Rosa was a strong woman who managed to make Vince finally move on from Mia completely, which they were all glad about. This also meant that the bad blood between Brian and Vince had decreased drastically—they still weren't close, but at least they were getting along, although Vince would never admit it.

As for business, the DT garage and the Toretto diner were once again opened to the public. People that used to come to the garage since the Torettos had memory came back, and there were new clients showing up. Everyone that had worked at that garage felt the familiarity and comfort of working there again. The diner was also doing quite well—not with the same amount of clients of the garage, but good enough to bring income. Tej let his garage in charge of trusted workers back in Miami, and up to now that had worked pretty well. Even though Tej wasn't there, the garage hadn't lost its clients and it was still a party that brought in money.

Of course that they also worried about bringing Race Wars back. Dom met Hector and Edwin and together they all began to plan to bring back Race Wars in the coolest, best way possible. And the word that the King of the Street was back and that Race Wars would be back as well spread throughout the whole street racing world and it definitely lifted the hype for that event. With the collaboration of everyone in the family, plus Hector and Edwin, they were sure to make the greatest edition of Race Wars yet. Something they were all looking forwards to.

Word that Toretto was back didn't only spread in the street racing world, but in the LAPD as well. There were still a lot of LAPD officers that sometimes nosed around, trying to bust them doing something, _anything_. However, most of those officers failed, and they eventually began to give up. Tanner's influence also helped. He still came around to visit Brian and Jack. At first the DT team was worried of having a cop around—even if they had clean records—but Tanner proved them wrong. They could understand—to an extent—why Brian liked him.

They still had their typical Sunday barbecues, of course. Every single Sunday they would do it. They practically spent hours together—at home, at work, hanging out—but the Sunday barbecue just _had_ to happen. It was tradition. Family tradition. And they were all family.

* * *

Race Wars had been amazing.

It had been that much better than what they had pictured. There had been a huge amount of people. There had been a huge variety of cars, music booming from some speakers, and women all around much to the enjoyment of the single men. Pretty much all of them had raced and they had all won easy money which had them in a very good mood. Race Wars had been an event the DT team was always looking forwards to and now they were finally there. Even the Miami crew was amazed at the event.

All in all, they were all proud by the result.

They were all especially proud when they noticed little Jack's happiness during the event. Maybe such a place wasn't the most appropriate for a child, but Jack had been raised around parties, cars and races and there was no way his parents would leave him with a random babysitter. They'd rather just bring him along which proved to be a good idea since they kid definitely enjoyed it. He loved watching the cars and he always cheered in his baby squeals when someone of his family won a race. He probably was who cheered the loudest when Brian's Skyline beat the Audi he was racing against.

"Hey! Let's toast!" Dom called in his booming voice. He wanted to celebrate with his family the success of their work. Soon enough, every single one of his family was around him to listen to his speech as he raised his bottle of Corona. "To our family, because despite all that we've been through these last three years we have managed to get to this point, with new members and with a little angel here," he smiled at Jack. "And because we were able to work together to pull this project. It just shows that we are capable of great things together. No matter what happened in the past, we are all family and that is something we can't forget. To family!"

"To family!" they all chorused as they clicked their bottles.

* * *

Months passed by and it was time for Jack's second birthday. Everyone was excited for it, and they wanted to make it the best birthday celebration they could. Since Dom had missed his nephew's first birthday, he was determined to make the best out of his second birthday. It amazed the whole family how quickly Jack was growing up. The kid was looking more like his father every day, and his charming smile was able to melt even the toughest of men's hearts. Everyone was pretty proud of the toddler, especially his parents.

"I can't believe this is Jack's second birthday," Mia said to Brian as she put some balloons to decorate the backyard. They were having a birthday party for him there. "It seems like yesterday when we were changing his diapers at 4 a.m."

Brian chuckled. "Yeah, we could barely sleep those nights."

"It was worth it," Mia said. "Tiring, yeah—but totally worth it."

"Couldn't agree more," the blond nodded.

"Now look at our son—two years old, and before we know it he'll be going to kindergarten, then to school, then to college…" she trailed off. "And he's gonna have a family of his own and maybe a job or something and—" She sighed. "I can't believe time goes by so fast."

Brian put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. "Everyone has to grow up, babe."

She sighed again. "I know, but sometimes I wish he still was a baby."

"If you want a baby, we could always have one, babe," her boyfriend grinned suggestively, kissing her.

"You want to have another baby?" she smiled, looking up at her boyfriend adoringly.

He shrugged and smiled. "Sure, I wouldn't mind havin' another one. It'd be nice if Jack had a sibling to play with. And it'd be fun to take care of another baby—even though we wouldn't be getting any sleep," he laughed.

"That's good to know," she smiled.

"So we settled? We're gonna be making another baby?" he leaned down and kissed her neck.

"That won't be necessary," she said, and giggled when seeing her boyfriend's confused expression.

"Won't be necessary…?" he trailed off. "You mean…" His mind was slowly connecting the dots. "You're… you're pregnant?!"

"Keep your voice down!" she whispered, looking around, hoping none of their friends had heard her. "It's supposed to be a surprise."

"Yeah, yeah—sorry," he laughed. "This is—wow." He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her. This news was unexpected to him—just like it had been when she told him she was pregnant with Jack—but things were different now. They weren't hiding. They knew how to be parents now. He wasn't scared anymore. And he was the happiest he had ever been. "So baby number two's already in there?"

"Yeah, she is," Mia smiled.

Brian raised an eyebrow. "She?"

"We already have a boy, so I'm thinking this might be a girl—I don't wanna be outnumbered by men anymore," she laughed. "I mean I'll love our child—boy or girl—but a girl would definitely be nice."

"Yeah, yeah, it would be." Brian hadn't really thought about having a daughter, but he quickly warmed up to the idea. "I bet she'd be as pretty as you."

Mia blushed and giggled. "Just like Jack's as handsome as you."

"Yeah, kind of like that," he laughed, leaning over to kiss her again.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Jack laughed as he ran towards them, Dom following behind the child.

"Hey, buddy!" Brian grinned as he crouched down to face his son. "How's the birthday boy doin'?"

"Great!" he chipped.

"I drove him around in the Charger," Dom said proudly. "Guess he won't be driving any Skylines. After all, he's a Toretto." He smirked over at his sister's boyfriend. What car Jack would prefer was an on-going argument between Dom and Brian that still did not have any solution.

"O'Conner, Dom. He's an O'Conner," the former cop smirked. "You're gonna be disappointed when he goes around drivin' a Skyline."

"Ignore your daddy and uncle, Jack. They're speaking nonsense," Mia told her young son, picking him up. She leaned up and whispered in Brian's ear, "We'll tell them at the party," before taking her son with her inside the house.

"So what was that about?" Dom raised an eyebrow, curious at whatever Mia had whispered to Brian.

The blond smirked. "Couple stuff you're not interested on. Now, you gonna help me with these decorations or what? Mia kinda bailed on me, as you can see."

Dom chuckled. "Yeah, whatever, let's get this over with. My nephew deserves the best birthday."

"That I can agree with."

* * *

"Cake time!" Roman announced loudly as he watched Dom bring Jack's birthday cake. Everyone gathered around the table to sing the little boy his birthday anthem. Jack was grinning widely and looked up at his parents, who were smiling at him with proud smiles.

"Make three wishes, son," Mia told him.

Jack nodded, pondered—or, at least, pondered as best as a two-year-old could—about his wishes and then blew the candles. The whole family cheered and clapped at him.

"So, what did you wish for, little man?" Leon asked, only to be hit by Letty. "Ow!"

"You're not s'pposed to ask that, you idiot!" she hissed.

Jack didn't seem to mind and he shrugged. "Brother," he said. "Or sister."

"Siblings, aye?" Han asked.

"Seems you to need to work to get the little one here some siblings to play with," Tej smirked at Brian and Mia.

The couple glanced at each other and grinned, deciding to tell the family their news. "That won't be necessary," Brian said.

"Say wha?" Jimmy asked. "Not necessary?"

"Nope," Mia grinned. "See, I'm already pregnant. So there's no need to work on that."

"You're pregnant?!" Letty screeched, her smile brightening up her face. She had been surprised and later happy for her friend when she found out she was a mother, but she hadn't been there when Mia had found out she was pregnant and she wished she could be. Now, she could be there for her friend during her pregnancy. "That's great news!" she cheered, hugging her best friends.

"Another rugrat?!" Roman laughed. "Holy sh—crap, I can't believe it!" He went over to hug his best friend. "Congrats, brah!"

Dom watched in stunned silence as his friends congratulated her sister and her boyfriend. He had met his sister's first son—his nephew—when the kid was already one-year-old. He hadn't been able to be there during her pregnancy, or during the first year of Jack's life. And he hated that he had missed that. Now, he had the chance to be a part of it all. "I can't believe it," he muttered, but a smile grew in his face and he went to hug his little sister. "I'm so happy for you," he whispered to her.

"Thanks, Dom," Mia smiled at her brother.

"You're not gonna try to kill me this time?" the blond questioned as Dom came over to him. The smile in Brian's face showed the question was not serious. They had long since gotten over that.

"Nah," Dom shook his head, hugging his sister's boyfriend. "You're part of the family. Congrats."

"Thanks," Brian laughed.

"Daddy," Jack whined as he tugged on Brian's jeans. He wasn't sure what had happened. He only knew his mom had said something and then suddenly everyone was congratulating his parents. He was lost and he wanted to know what was going on. "What's pre… pren… pregne…" he struggled with the word.

"Pregnant," Brian laughed as he crouched down to meet his son's eyes. "It mean you're gonna have a sibling."

"Sibling?"

"Yes, Jack. You're gonna have a brother or sister," Mia explained, crouching down next to her boyfriend.

His eyes widened. "Really?!"

"Yeah, really."

He looked around innocently. "Where's he?"

The adults chuckled at the boy's innocence.

"He or she is here," Mia said, grabbing her son's little hand and placing it on her stomach. "Here in my belly."

"Why? You ate him? Or her?"

Once again the adults chuckled.

"No," Mia laughed. "She lives there. She will be there for nine months, and then she'll come out."

"Why so long?"

"She needs to grow first," she explained. "But, in nine months, your brother or sister will be here with us. For now, he or she will be in my belly, growing so it can be ready for the world."

"Okay," Jack nodded, seemingly accepting was his mother was telling him.

"Having a brother or sister is the best birthday gift you could ever have, Jack," Dom told his nephew softly. "Don't forget that."

He knew Jack was young and that he'd probably forget soon, but Dom would make sure to always remind him until he was old enough to remember himself. A younger sibling was a blessing, and he was glad his nephew would know what it was like. Hopefully, there would never be any separation like there had been for himself and Mia, but he didn't know if that would happen or not. All he knew was that he'd do everything he could to prevent it, and he knew Brian and Mia would as well.

* * *

"You remember this place?" Brian asked Mia as they sat in the hood of his Skyline, watching the waves. They had gone out on a date, leaving Jack under Dom and Letty's care. Dom loved spending time with his nephew, so he didn't mind looking after the kid while Brian and Mia went on a date and Jesse, Leon, and Vince went to some club to party and probably get a girl to get laid. Letty loved Jack too, so she didn't mind either.

"Of course I do. I brought you here, remember?" she rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her lips. "After our first date."

"Yeah," he nodded, and grinned. "It was pretty amazing, especially what happened in the car and at Harry's."

Mia punched his arm playfully. "You're so bad," she laughed. "I can't believe we could come back to this place."

"Yeah, to your beach, with your ocean," he smirked.

"And my moon," she added, smirking back. "Don't you forget my moon."

"I haven't," he whispered, before joining his lips with hers.

For that moment, they were back to four years ago, when they had they first date and they had come to this beach after dinner. Back then, Brian was still undercover and Mia was oblivious to his cop status, neither of them knowing how everything would go to hell. And they didn't know how they'd manage to pull through everything life threw at them together. They didn't know they would form a family together. But, now they knew. They knew—they _lived_ —all that, and they wouldn't change a thing.

"I've been thinkin'," Brian whispered to Mia as they pulled apart. "I've been thinkin' about something I've wanted to do for a long time now, but it didn't feel right because I wanted it to be perfect and I knew it wouldn't be if your family wasn't here."

Mia cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Mia, I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You've been the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me, and you've made me the happiest I've ever been. You gave me a son and now you're gonna give me another child. I really can't express in words how grateful I am to have you in my life." He reached to his back pocket and got a small back out. He opened it, revealing a ring. Mia gasped as she saw it, her eyes glistening with tears as emotion and excitement took over her. "Mia Toretto, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She shot forwards to hug him and then kissed him as passionately as she could. "Yes, yes, yes…" she kept muttering against his lips. He chuckled, pulling back to put the ring on her finger. "It's beautiful," she said of the ring.

"It's not so much," Brian shrugged. "I mean, there are far better rings than that out there—" He was silenced when Mia kissed him.

"Shut up," she giggled. "It's perfect."

Brian smiled, hugging her and pulling her to his chest. "I've been thinking about proposing for a while, but I knew you would want your brother and the team to be there. Then, when they showed up, we weren't on the best of relationships, so I had to wait more. Now that we're back in LA all together it was the perfect opportunity, especially since now we're gonna have another child."

Mia smiled. "You've made me the happiest I've ever been. I love you, Brian O'Conner."

"I love you, too, Mia Toretto," he whispered back before kissing her again.

* * *

"I can't wait to tell everyone!" Mia squealed in excitement as she cooked. She'd wanted their engagement to be a surprise to their family, so she invited everyone to a dinner the day after Brian proposed. They usually ate dinner together, so it wasn't strange for Mia to invite them all. She was cooking and Brian was helping her.

"Don't say it so loud, Mi. You'll ruin the surprise," Brian told her. He was excited to tell everyone, but he was calmer than Mia.

"I know; I know—I'm sorry. I'm just so excited!" she squealed again, much to Brian's amusement.

"Chill out, fiancée," Brian laughed, but he made sure to say the last word quietly.

Mia's smile brightened up her face even more. "I love it when you call me that." She leaned up to whisper in his ear. "Fiancé."

"Sounds pretty good, gotta admit," he chuckled.

"Hey, did you ask Dom?" Mia asked after a moment, looking at her fiancé curiously.

Brian paused. "Oh, uh… no. No, I didn't."

Mia's eyes widened. "You didn't?"

"No. Why, you think I should've?"

"Well, I don't think it's necessary, but in Dom's world, it might be. I mean, I'm still a virgin as far as he's concerned, even though I have a son and I'm pregnant again," she rolled her eyes, and Brian chuckled at her comment. "Seriously, though, maybe Dom thinks you should ask him for his blessing."

"Really?" Brian raised his eyebrows. "You think he's that closed minded?"

"With me he is," she shrugged. "But, whatever. He'll get over it. I just hope he doesn't punch you or anything."

"Oh, I am so looking forwards to that," Brian mumbled sarcastically. "Well, if he doesn't agree, fuck him. I proposed because I love you. Nothing will ever change that, not even your big bad brother."

Mia giggled. "Well, I'm glad to hear my big bad brother won't be a problem for us tonight." She kissed him, but they pulled apart when they heard Roman's loud voice.

"Hey, where's the food?!"

They both chuckled, and took the food to the table. They all sat there, and Roman ended up saying grace _again_ —he was usually the one who reached for the food first, and this time was not different. After he finished, everyone was ready to dig in, but Mia stopped them. "Hold on," she said. "Me and Brian wanna make an announcement."

"Announcement?" Leon raised his eyebrows.

"What—you already pregnant, baby girl. What kinda announcement can it be this time?" Tej wondered.

Mia and Brian smiled at each other, and then she showed the group her engagement ring. "We're engaged!"

"Holy shit!" Letty exclaimed, her shock turning into happiness. She'd been Mia's best friend for years, and if there was one thing she knew about Mia, is that she always dreamed to get married. She could see her sister's excitement and Letty was excited for her as well. She stood up from her chair and went to Mia to give her a hug. "Congratulations!"

"This is great! Finally!" Suki squealed in excitement. She'd been waiting for the day Brian would finally propose to Mia. She knew he'd do it, eventually. She was so happy he finally did. "I've been waiting for you two to get engaged for so long!" she gushed, hugging Brian and then Mia after she and Letty had let go. Everyone followed Suki and Letty and began to congratulate the couple.

Gisele, Cara, and Rosa were all excited about the wedding. They'd stood up and hugged the couple, then they began chatting with Mia, Suki, and Letty about the wedding. Even Letty—the tough badass girl—found herself taking part of that conversation. She wasn't too much into weddings, but Mia's future wedding was important to Letty, and Letty had promised that she'd be the Maid of Honor in her best friend's wedding.

Dom did not expect that to happen. He knew Brian and Mia loved each other but he hadn't expected them to actually get married. However, he was happy—even though there was a part of him that thought Brian should've asked him first. He wasn't angry though. The expression on his sister's face showed how happy she was, and that was all he could ask for.

"Finally you did it, cuz!" Roman cheered, wrapping his arm around his best friend's shoulders. He was overjoyed about the engagement. Some years earlier, he would've never expected Brian O'Conner of all people to get married or to have a family, but now, Roman could see how happy Brian was. He was so happy for his friend. "This calls for a celebration! We should throw a party for this!"

"Yeah, we should, just as long as the party isn't formal," Tej said. "'Cause, y'know, a formal wedding's enough for me, y'know what I'm sayin'?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. I ain't into formal things either," Brian laughed.

"Well, we're screwed then," Dom smiled and hugged his sister's fiancé. "Congratulations."

Brian was relieved when he noticed Dom wasn't angry. He actually seemed happy about it! "Thanks, Dom."

"Okay, so this deserves a toast!" Dom announced loudly, and everyone else cheered as they got their drinks.

* * *

The wedding was weeks after the proposal. They didn't want a big thing. They just wanted a celebration with their family. They decided to get married in the beach, because it was a place they both loved, and where Brian had proposed. Mia looked beautiful in that white dress. She'd roamed many stores in search of the perfect dress, much to the delight of Gisele, Suki, Rosa, and Cara and to Letty's annoyance, and they'd roamed even more stores looking for bridesmaids' dresses. Letty was just about ready to kill someone by the time they'd finally found all dresses after _days_ of endless looking, but she never bailed out of shopping because she knew how much it meant to Mia.

The girls had practically ordered Mia not to worry about the wedding's preparations—they didn't want to stress the pregnant woman—and instead they took care of it themselves. Of course, Letty always took whatever chance she had to get away from planning and instead spent her time in the garage or with Mia. The other girls didn't mind—they figured it'd be good for Mia to have a friend while they worried about making the wedding as perfect as it could be.

Mia was nervous about the wedding, especially when the day arrived—whether she'd look good, if she'd screwed up somehow, if everything would be perfect—but the girls tried their best to make her relax for her day. Mia had dreamed of marrying someone since she was a little girl, so the excitement she felt over marrying the man she loved definitely beat the nervousness she felt. She hadn't minded that they weren't married when they had Jack, but she was really looking forwards to finally tie the knot.

She wasn't the only nervous one, because Brian was practically freaking out. He never thought he'd ever get married, or have a family—he didn't see himself as that kind of guy—but he had a different side of himself with Mia and Jack and for the first time in his life he considered marrying someone. He didn't regret his proposal, but the nerves weren't helping his cause. Even though he hadn't been with any other woman since he began dating Mia, the fact that he was legally going to be tied to her forever was kind of scary. But, he reminded himself he wanted this, and that the fact it would now be legal shouldn't make a difference.

It didn't stop him from freaking out though.

The fuck was he doing? Forever. He was committing to _forever_! That was damn scary. What if things changed and he felt trapped? Even worse, what if _she_ was the one who felt trapped? It was so pressuring. He didn't want to screw up and get tongue-tied or trip or anything. It didn't help that the suit he had on was practically suffocating him. That's why he hated suits! For a moment he considered bolting out of there before Dom saw him, explain things to Mia, and just skip the whole marriage thing and continue their lives as if this ceremony never happened. But, he knew that would upset Mia so he didn't.

That was when Tej walked over to him, interrupting his musings. "Hey, man, what's up? You okay?"

"Okay?" Brian repeated, letting out a short burst of laughter. "Okay? Yeah, yeah—I'm okay, man. Yeah. Totally okay. Yeah, totally."

Tej raised an eyebrow. He hadn't believed Suki when she'd sent him to check on Brian—she'd said he'd probably be nervous, but Tej didn't think someone as calm as Brian would be—but now he could tell the guy was practically freaking out. He hid it well, but Tej knew Brian long enough. "You sure? You seem a lil' nervous there."

"Nervous? Nah, nah—not at all. See, I ain't nervous. No, not nervous. Nope."

Tej would've laughed, but he didn't want to make fun of Brian when he knew he'd be bolting to Mexico if it was him about to marry Suki. At least Brian was still here, which was very respectable in his books. "Bullshit, man. You trippin' over your own words."

"Shit, I am?!" He couldn't trip over his own words when he had to give a speech to everyone there! "Fuck!" He sighed. "Okay, okay. Maybe I'm a little nervous—"

"A little?" At that Tej had to raise an eyebrow.

"Okay, very! Yeah, I'm damn nervous, I know. I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing, man. I'm committing to forever. Fuckin' _forever_!"

Tej could understand Brian's fear, but he also knew that Brian had practically committed to forever way before he ever even married. "You've been committed to forever for a while now, man. All you doin' right now is puttin' it on a paper. That's all there is to it."

"That's so easy for you to say," Brian shook his head. "You aren't the one getting married."

"No, but I know you love Mia enough to do this for her. And she loves you. So what's the problem? It's the same thing for you two—the only difference is that there's a paper sayin' so too."

Brian thought about what Tej was saying. It did make a lot of sense. "So that's what you gonna be sayin' to yourself when you marry Suki or will I have to remind you of your own words?"

"Shut up, O'Conner."

Brian chuckled. "Whatever. I needed that, man. Thanks."

"No problem."

"Where's Rome?" Brian asked, trying to forget his nerves.

"Trying to flirt with some of the girls over there," Tej replied. " _Trying._ "

"Of course he is," Brian muttered under his breath, shaking his head in amusement at his best friend. Taking his mind off of his worries was definitely helping him. He just hoped he could pull it off.

Not too far away from them, Dom watched in amusement at the scene before him. The girls were gushing over Mia, complimenting her and reassuring her, while Letty played the Maid of Honor part—apparently she took it seriously, perhaps _way_ too seriously—and ordered everyone around. It was entertaining to see his girlfriend scaring everyone and bossing them around. He then saw Jack playing with Han, who had offered to look after the kid for a while. He chuckled and then turned to his sister, noticing the other girls were leaving her to go to their seats.

It was time.

Dom walked to his sister and smiled at how beautiful she was. "You look gorgeous, Mia."

She smiled. "Thanks, Dom."

"Are you nervous?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "But, I'm happy. Really happy, and excited."

"I know," he smiled, hugging her. "I'm happy for you, Mi. I just hope your new husband treats you well."

She snorted, pulling away from her brother's embrace. "He's been doing that for four years already, Dom."

He laughed. "I know, but I still want to make sure. You're my baby sister." His eyes went to where Brian stood with the priest. "At least he didn't run away. Saves me from shooting his knees."

"Dom!" Mia punched her brother in his arm playfully.

Dom laughed. He offered his arm to her, smiling, and knowing their father would be proud of this day. "You ready?"

Mia took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready."

Roman was complaining quietly to Tej and Brian that the girl he was eyeing was stolen from him as Jesse got to her first. Tej was consoling him, telling him he'd find someone hotter, and with 'a big ass forehead like yours.' Brian was only half paying attention, his nerves distracting him. He was completely distracted, however, when Dom walked Mia down the aisle. He'd always know Mia was beautiful, but now she looked gorgeous. Even Tej and Roman were stunned as they fumbled for the rings.

Brian and Mia barely heard the priest talk, smiling at each other. Their nerves were less now that it was finally happening and they were doing the vows. And after what felt like forever the priest finally announced they were married and that they could kiss. They could hear everyone cheering for them as they kissed, and they pulled away to smile in happiness. They were finally married and they had no reason to be nervous anymore. All they had to look forwards to was a kick-ass reception party and then their honeymoon, which was something they were really excited about.

* * *

"Hey, wife," Brian wrapped his arm around Mia's shoulders from behind and kissed her cheek. They'd gone to the DR for their honeymoon and were currently sitting in the hotel room with view at the beach, enjoying their few days of freedom and no responsibilities. Jack was under Uncle Dom and Aunt Letty's care, so they had days off of being parents.

"Hey, husband," she giggled, kissing him.

"How's our little girl?" he asked, putting his free hand on her stomach.

"Doing good," she replied and smiled when he kissed her cheek again. "Did you ever think that our choices four years ago would lead to this?"

"No," he shook his head. "But, it's the best thing that has ever happened to me." He kissed her. "I love you, Mia."

"I love you, too, Brian," she smiled, kissing him again.

When they had made their choice four years ago, they had no idea what they were getting into. But, now, they could both say that it was the best choice they ever made. Because it was because of those choices that they were here, together, with a family to call their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand this story has come into an end. I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you enjoyed reading it! :)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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